You ever hear sounds that aren't there?!
- Thread starter Trekker4747
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I've been asked this question. "How can I hear it if there's really no sound?"
I think you'd be surprised what some people think.
I once met a woman who didn't understand why, when the electricity was out, why the television wouldn't work--"but the TV runs on cable".
You'd be surprised.
Nope, I was in for pnumonia. Just a saline drip and some antibiotics at that point. I think they gave me something for throat pain right after I came to (they had me unconscious and intubated for the first three days), and I think there might have been some hydrocodone in that - but this started a couple of days later, and I've taken Vicodin with no side-effects before. I'm pretty sure it was either the lack of interesting sensory input, a delayed reaction to the lack of ANY perceivable input while they had me under (I didn't even know how much time had passed when I came to, for the first time in my life - still freaks me out a little), or a reaction to the anitbiotics.
I haven't. I might have to check that out.
Then there's Exploding Head Syndrome. I am an avid watcher of House, and I was shocked to hear that such a thing existed when it appeared on an episode a while back. I was shocked, because I do remember experiencing this a handful of times when I was younger. It only happened maybe 2 or 3 times during the course of my life, but it always freaked me out when it did. They say it can be caused by stress or lack of sleep, both of which I have experienced in abundance during that time. But there are definitely things out there that can make you hear things that nobody else can.
I can't sleep in total silence. I have to have music playing. I find that slow New Age music, such as Liquid Mind or 2002, is ideal for this purpose.
So no, I usually don't hear sounds that aren't there, because the music is all I *do* hear.
So no, I usually don't hear sounds that aren't there, because the music is all I *do* hear.
Damn, you stole my line.
Wow, first time I read about it, and it happened to me quite some times! It was in the form of a slamming door usually (probably because it's the sound i'm more familiar with compared to the others). I always assumed I dozed off and just dreamed of it.
As I'm drifting off to sleep I get these weird scenarios that play out in my head, things like what I might have said to someone, or what I might be going to say to someone, and how they might react, and sometimes I realize that I'm actually hearing their responses as though the person were actually in the room with me. This makes me wonder if I might not go completely bonkers as I get older. 
What are you doing later? Do you wanna play with the lives of millions of people? It'll be fun.
No, usually I'm the one hearing something that no one else hears -a valve on a radiator whistling, a photo frame rattling against the wall whenever someone walks across the floor, the neighbours fire alarm needing new batteries- but on occasion, when I'm very sleepy, I get this high pitched noise in my left ear -don't know what that is about though.
This begs a definition of when something becomes thinking; where in the process of hearing does the 'thinking' begin?
What I'm trying to say is that perceived sound can come from any part of the ear; from the drum to the brain...
This begs a definition of when something becomes thinking; where in the process of hearing does the 'thinking' begin?
What I'm trying to say is that perceived sound can come from any part of the ear; from the drum to the brain...
Do you also hear voices? And do these voices tell you to set things on fire? Or vote democrat?
If one 'hears voices' those voices usually try to make one do evil things, which would be voting conservative for instance
I don't know what it was, I think my medication(s) are messing with my mind. In wasn't tinnitus, I know that much.
I woke up in the middle of the night and in the distance I heard police/emergency vehicle sirens (common as there's a major roadway and highway in earshot of me) and I also heard a neighbor's intrusion alarm. I don't know if two were related (I doubt it as there were a lot of sirens) but I heard them -for reals. But it seems like I heard them for so long and they got so bored into my brain that I continued to hear them even long after that should've been gone! Like hours later, when I woke to get read for work, I could still hear them as-if they were going off in the distance! I even stuck my head out the door to "force" my brain into hearing that they weren't there!
Head out the door I heard nothing. Ahhh. So I closed the door, sat back down, and then they started up again! Again, not tinnitus because there were two distinct, different, sounds that were vaugely there as if real sounds going off in the distance! And once I was out of the place, in the car, and on the way to work they were gone.
But.... arghh!!!!!
Trekker, medicated.
I woke up in the middle of the night and in the distance I heard police/emergency vehicle sirens (common as there's a major roadway and highway in earshot of me) and I also heard a neighbor's intrusion alarm. I don't know if two were related (I doubt it as there were a lot of sirens) but I heard them -for reals. But it seems like I heard them for so long and they got so bored into my brain that I continued to hear them even long after that should've been gone! Like hours later, when I woke to get read for work, I could still hear them as-if they were going off in the distance! I even stuck my head out the door to "force" my brain into hearing that they weren't there!
Head out the door I heard nothing. Ahhh. So I closed the door, sat back down, and then they started up again! Again, not tinnitus because there were two distinct, different, sounds that were vaugely there as if real sounds going off in the distance! And once I was out of the place, in the car, and on the way to work they were gone.
But.... arghh!!!!!
Trekker, medicated.
Sounds like a mild case of tinnitus.
Not quite. You still need the brain and nerves in order to interpret those signals as hearing.
People can have malfunctioning eardrums and can still "hear" from that side of the head if the sound can bypass the middle ear bones (be it a blockage in the earhole, problems with the eardrum, or otosclerosis of the middle ear bones, among other causes) and reach the inner ear's auditory receptors, usually by transmitting through the skull itself. It's called conductive hearing loss, and can be demonstrated clinically using a tuning fork.
The other pathological type of hearing loss is sensorineural, caused by damage to the inner ear (where the auditory nerve receptors lie), to the auditory nerve or the central pathways inside the brain, or to the auditory cerebral cortex. If there is damage or malfunction in the auditory cortex, such as in some forms of epilepsy, auditory hallucinations can result.
What's interesting about the therapy you posted is that a recent story shows a similar technique used, but instead of a sine wave, they used precisely EQ'd music.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8429715.stm
I've recently had an increase in the volume of my tinnitus, causing me to try and find some way of ridding myself of it.
In the process I've been noticing how LOUD the world is. Similar to light pollution, how much sound is everywhere, especially in an urban setting. People just blast themselves with sound. I'm a musician, and I see higher wattages in car stereos than I've used to amplify a whole band.
I often here the sound of a train horn/whistle at my grans house late at night. When im near a pc or tv thats on i hear a faint humming noise.
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