What is Musical Ear Syndrome?

There are all sorts of interesting things that can happen with human ears, and much of it can seem like a mystery when it happens to you. The truth is that a lot of these actually tend to go hand in hand too, so understanding as much about them as possible can be hugely helpful. One of the conditions that you may or may not have heard about is something known as musical ear syndrome (MES).

In this post, we are going to discuss musical ear syndrome in some detail, so you can see what it is and what you are likely to experience if you get it, as well as seeing some ideas on how it can be dealt with and treated. Let’s take a look right now at this phenomenon.

What is Musical Ear Syndrome?

In a sense, musical ear syndrome is a condition where you experience certain auditory hallucinations. You might hear music or singing despite there not being any, for example. One of the first things to appreciate about this syndrome is that it is not as worrying as it might at first seem. Similarly, people often worry that the symptoms of MES are a sign of dementia, but this is not the case either. It is simply its own syndrome that has nothing to do with dementia or anything of the kind.

In fact, it is much more commonly a result of hearing loss, which is why these two tend to go hand in hand so often, as we mentioned above.

How common is MES?

So now that we have seen a brief overview of MES, you might be wondering how likely it is to happen to you. The truth is that MES is not very common at all. In fact, it is very rarely diagnosed, so you should not assume that it is going to happen to you, even if you have hearing loss that is quite pronounced already. Although there is a link between MES and hearing loss, how this actually happens and what the mechanism behind it is, are not well understood by science yet.

However, we can gain some understanding by looking at the way that the brain interprets sound. When the sense of hearing is impaired, the brain continues to look for input wherever it can, rather than simply ignoring the sense altogether. Often the result of this behavior is that the brain has to fill in some blanks, because it is not getting a lot of data from the sensory world. So that is why the music appears, despite not having a physical cause.

In many respects, then, MES is similar to the ringing in the ears that is characteristic of tinnitus.

What causes MES?

Despite the fact that we don’t yet know a great deal about MES, we have been able to identify a few common causes that seem to lead to it. Let’s take a look at those now.

Hearing loss

The most common cause of MES is hearing loss, and they tend to go together most of the time.

This is not always the case, however, and not everyone who has hearing loss will have MES, and vice versa.

Medication

There are some medications that seem to have some bearing on the likelihood of MES to occur. Medications can cause hallucinations, including those linked to MES, but it is still very rare indeed. If you think your medication might be the cause, then it is best to speak to your doctor to find out.

Treating MES

So how is musical ear syndrome actually treated? As it happens, there are a few common treatments that are generally used. One of the main solutions is to have hearing aids fitted. When these are in place, it helps with the hearing loss that might be causing the MES, with the result that the MES itself is soon improved too.

Beyond that, sometimes cognitive behavioral therapy is used as well to help with the auditory hallucinations, but this is not always necessary. Generally, just helping with the hearing loss is sufficient.

As you can see, dealing with hearing loss can have an impact on your health, talk to your audiologist and see what the best treatment option may be. If you have hearing loss and you would like to do something about it, the first step is to speak to your local audiologist. Get in touch with Atlantic Audiology at (401) 262-0170.