Am I crazy? I hear music in my head all the time since covid.

Posted by imlizard865 @imlizard865, Mar 9 11:41am

I have had covid twice. The last time was June 2023. It was very mild, like a cold. However, ever since, I hear music inside my head ALL the time, unless I am concentrating on something else. Also I have random, moderate attacks of vertigo. I haven’t shared this with my doctor, only my wife and a couple close friends. Are these hallucinations? It’s always music I know I have heard, but not always music I like. I am getting tired of it. I am certain that it started with my most recent bout of covid. Anyone?

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In "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" (written long before COVID), Oliver Sacks tells a couple similar stories that he ascribes to a type of seizure, which could be detected with an EEG. He prescribed an anti-convulsant to one of these patients, and the songs went away. Maybe you should tell a neurologist.

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Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear of your hearing music all the time! That must be awful for you! My neighbor had a similar situation since she got the stronger flu vaccine for seniors. She hears religious music which she likes all the time. But she hears it when there is no music. Her doctors think it was caused by a urinary tract infection which doesn't seem right. I would suggest praying and staying away from all vaccines; especially strong ones. I will say a prayer for you also.
PML

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@pml

Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear of your hearing music all the time! That must be awful for you! My neighbor had a similar situation since she got the stronger flu vaccine for seniors. She hears religious music which she likes all the time. But she hears it when there is no music. Her doctors think it was caused by a urinary tract infection which doesn't seem right. I would suggest praying and staying away from all vaccines; especially strong ones. I will say a prayer for you also.
PML

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Since Covid I have constant ringing, buzzing, hissing, heartbeat and occasional tv or radio broadcasting-like sounds (can’t make out the words). Gets extremely loud when I’m not feeling good or under stress.
Doctors are useless and tell me there’s no cure or treatment. 🙄They say it’s all part of Tinnitus.

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Here is an excerpt from a review article in The Open Neurology Journal published in 2017: “[Musical hallucinations] are prevalent above all in patients with neurological pathologies, whether these be cerebral lesions (vascular cerebral diseases, tumors, demyelinating disease...), epilepsy of the temporal lobe, Parkinson's, infectious processes of the central nervous system, etc. […] They can be produced as a side effect of some medications (pentoxifylline, tramadol, Bromocriptina) and have also been observed in hepatic transplants.”
Reference: https://doi.org/10.2174%2F1874205X01711010011

Covid was obviously not around when this article came out, but it does sound like the musical hallucinations you are experiencing are likely neurological in nature, and Covid definitely can wreak havoc on the nervous system (i.e., the loss of taste or smell).

I think letting your doctor know about your symptoms is appropriate, and hopefully they will be able to refer you to a neurologist who can help you. Best of luck with your recovery!

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Sometimes that happens to me. I wake up in the night hearing the same song! I try to stand outside of myself and not hear the music. Does that make sense? I attempt to control my thought so the music disappears.

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I know how you are feeling, I have this problem too. My research said it’s called an ‘ear worm’, I know the name is disconcerting but honestly it’s nothing to do with worms in the ears lol. I started noticing this problem a few years ago and couldn’t understand why I hear a song all the time and often it’s not a song I like, you don’t get to choose and it makes this even worse. There’s quite a bit of info about it online and can be helpful. I sometimes pick up a tune from a television commercial, they have some catchy tunes today to sell stuff. I don’t have a cure for this to share with you, I did read that it’s caused by depression and anxiety, it makes sense for me but perhaps you might have other reasons for having this. I would suggest reading about it and see if the helpful tips might work for you, good luck.

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@athenaatkins

Here is an excerpt from a review article in The Open Neurology Journal published in 2017: “[Musical hallucinations] are prevalent above all in patients with neurological pathologies, whether these be cerebral lesions (vascular cerebral diseases, tumors, demyelinating disease...), epilepsy of the temporal lobe, Parkinson's, infectious processes of the central nervous system, etc. […] They can be produced as a side effect of some medications (pentoxifylline, tramadol, Bromocriptina) and have also been observed in hepatic transplants.”
Reference: https://doi.org/10.2174%2F1874205X01711010011

Covid was obviously not around when this article came out, but it does sound like the musical hallucinations you are experiencing are likely neurological in nature, and Covid definitely can wreak havoc on the nervous system (i.e., the loss of taste or smell).

I think letting your doctor know about your symptoms is appropriate, and hopefully they will be able to refer you to a neurologist who can help you. Best of luck with your recovery!

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Great reply. Agree it’s neurological. Covid gave me symptoms akin to serious brain injury (not “brain fog”!) Most symptoms lasted at full throttle for 16 months.

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I have this too. Not always, and for me it sounds like a neighbor is playing their stereo a little loudly, you can’t tell what song but you can tell it’s music. Not an ear-worm where you hear a catchy song and it stays in your head a week. It’s like you hear it muffled. I make my boyfriend turn the tv down to see if it’s coming from the outside and it never is. It’s almost like my brain turns ambient noise into a beat. There is a long Covid Twitter that talks about it a lot, some people hear it louder and more clearly.

I also have had severe bouts of vertigo for the last 15 months. The exercises they give you for it help, but it comes back a few weeks later, and I repeat the process.

Not to frighten you, but Covid is shown to cause brain damage and there are studies that have found Lewy’s Bodies formations in monkeys affected by Covid. One studies found them in all their monkeys, but that study was very small. I’m 15 months in and have many other symptoms along with 22 abnormal labs and scans. They have found lesions in my brain and spinal cord and are tentatively treating it as MS but I don’t fit every criteria. My doctor theorizes that maybe there is a new presentation that is showing up in Covid patients. Please see a doctor, if you are nervous to tell family, then you can at least get some info from them.

Basically, don’t discount it as purely a mental illness thing, because many times these symptoms have a physical cause. COVID has been politicized so many people are discounting new problems and not connecting the dots. There is a reason we are seeing so much cognitive decline in the world now and it’s not because we had ‘lockdowns’ for a few weeks. Even me saying that will seem political when it’s really a statement borne out of research studies.

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Music and Covid - who knew we would talk about these things together?! I play guitar as a hobby. Work from home gave me a lot of time to practice, and I’ve gotten much better. I don’t read or write music, mainly improvise. At times I will get a new song in my head, and can pick up the guitar and play it. New songs have to start somewhere! As for tinnitus, yes, there is some of that also but not too bad yet. I believe I got Covid very early in the pandemic - before vaccines were available - but my symptoms have been neurological, not respiratory. My first symptom was amnesia (possibly a focal seizure). Three years into the pandemic I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. I’m on all sorts of meds now, for Epilepsy, anxiety, and depression. The meds tend to tamp everything down, or at least make the tinnitus less bothersome.

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@mh10

Since Covid I have constant ringing, buzzing, hissing, heartbeat and occasional tv or radio broadcasting-like sounds (can’t make out the words). Gets extremely loud when I’m not feeling good or under stress.
Doctors are useless and tell me there’s no cure or treatment. 🙄They say it’s all part of Tinnitus.

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i hear music in my ears since covid, sounds like big band-or classical music and even radio channel music.its real .
your not crazy.
my doctors know, seems to be part of long covid.

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