Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T00:27:29.405Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Musical ear syndrome in adult cochlear implant patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2013

W-K Low ,
C A Tham ,
V-D D'Souza  and
S-W Teng
W-K Low*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
C A Tham
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
V-D D'Souza
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
S-W Teng
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Wong-Kein Low, Visiting Consultant, Department of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, 169608 Fax: +65 62262079 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

Except for a single case report, musical ear syndrome in cochlear implantees has not been studied. We aimed to study the prevalence and nature of musical ear syndrome among adult cochlear implant patients, as well as the effect on their emotional well-being.

Study design, patients and intervention:

A cross-sectional survey of patients aged 18 years and above who had received cochlear implants for profound hearing loss between 1997 and 2010.

Results:

Of the 82 patients studied, 18 (22 per cent) were found to have experienced musical ear syndrome. Seven and 11 patients had musical ear syndrome prior to and after cochlear implantation, respectively. The character of musical ear syndrome symptoms was described as instrumental music (n = 2), singing (6) or both (10). Fourteen patients reported an adverse emotional effect, with three expressing ‘intolerance’.

Conclusions:

In this study, 22 per cent of cochlear implantees experienced musical ear syndrome. These symptoms affected patients' emotional state, but most coped well. Musical ear syndrome can occur prior to and after cochlear implantation.

Keywords

MusicHallucinationsCochlear ImplantsHearing LossDeafness
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 127 , Issue 9 , September 2013 , pp. 854 - 858
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Berrios, GE. Musical hallucinations: a historical and clinical study. Br J Psychiatry 1990;156:188–94CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Biran, I, Steiner, I. Abnormal musical pacemaker in a patient with musical hallucinations. Eur J Neurol 2006;13:1378–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Evers, S, Ellger, T. The clinical spectrum of musical hallucinations. J Neurol Sci 2004;227:55–65CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Fischer, CE, Marchie, A, Norris, M. Musical and auditory hallucinations: a spectrum. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2004;58:96–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Pasquini, F, Cole, MG. Idiopathic musical hallucinations in the elderly. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1997;10:11–14CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Cole, MG, Dowson, L, Dendukuri, N, Belzile, E. The prevalence and phenomenology of auditory hallucinations among elderly subjects attending an audiology clinic. Int J Geriatric Psychiatry 2002;17:444–52CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Griffiths, TD. Musical hallucinosis in acquired deafness: phenomenology and brain substrate. Brain 2000;123:2065–76CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Tanriverdi, N, Sayilgan, MA, Ozcurumez, G. Musical hallucinations associated with abruptly developed bilateral loss of hearing. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2001;103:153–5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Warren, JD, Schott, GD. Musical hallucinations in a musician. J Neurol 2006;253:1097–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Auffarth, IS, Kropp, S. Musical hallucination in a patient after cochlear implantation. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2009;21:230–1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Izumi, Y, Terao, T, Ishino, Y, Nakamura, J. Differences in regional cerebral blood flow during musical and verbal hallucinations. Psychiatry Res 2002;116:119–23CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Cope, TE, Baguley, DM. Is musical hallucination an otological phenomenon? A review of the literature. Clin Otolaryngol 2009;34:423–30CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Gilhuis, HJ, Dara Hama-Amin, A, Renier, W. Songs from childhood in the head. Clin Otolaryngol 2007;32:419–20CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed