AM I LOSING MY MIND?
March 2, 2015
By Olivene Godfrey
I'm 87 years old and sometimes I hear music in my head. So, I found a column by Marilyn vos Savant in a Parade magazine Sunday (3/1/2015) of interest. A person in their 90's asked Marilyn if she could explain why they sometimes heard music.
Marilyn said some seniors who sometimes experience this phenomenon often keep it to themselves, afraid they're losing their minds. They are harmless. Author Neil Bauman, who wrote a book about the subject, named the phenomenon "musical ear" to get rid of the term "hallucination" with its scary connotations. He suggested that a primary cause is living in an environment that is too quiet, causing the brain to replay sounds from its memory.
I spend quite a bit of time by myself and our house is very quiet, but I don't know if that explains why I hear music or not.
Recently, when I've watched the evening news on TV, I hear dramatic symphonies while the reporter gives the news. I thought it was the real thing. I told Barry I wasn't going to watch the news as long as they played that music. Barry informed me that there was NO music in the background.
Several nights I have awakened in the night with the sound of a full orchestra playing music in our long hallway. When Barry was a child, I took him to performances of the Chattanooga Symphony and also the Atlanta Symphony. Barry was impressed by all the instruments and the music. I know all those instruments couldn't fit in our hall but I've still heard the "symphony" performing several times late at night. It's reassuring to know that it's "harmless".
See you next time. Comments welcome. (As told to Tam)
By Olivene Godfrey
I'm 87 years old and sometimes I hear music in my head. So, I found a column by Marilyn vos Savant in a Parade magazine Sunday (3/1/2015) of interest. A person in their 90's asked Marilyn if she could explain why they sometimes heard music.
Marilyn said some seniors who sometimes experience this phenomenon often keep it to themselves, afraid they're losing their minds. They are harmless. Author Neil Bauman, who wrote a book about the subject, named the phenomenon "musical ear" to get rid of the term "hallucination" with its scary connotations. He suggested that a primary cause is living in an environment that is too quiet, causing the brain to replay sounds from its memory.
I spend quite a bit of time by myself and our house is very quiet, but I don't know if that explains why I hear music or not.
Recently, when I've watched the evening news on TV, I hear dramatic symphonies while the reporter gives the news. I thought it was the real thing. I told Barry I wasn't going to watch the news as long as they played that music. Barry informed me that there was NO music in the background.
Several nights I have awakened in the night with the sound of a full orchestra playing music in our long hallway. When Barry was a child, I took him to performances of the Chattanooga Symphony and also the Atlanta Symphony. Barry was impressed by all the instruments and the music. I know all those instruments couldn't fit in our hall but I've still heard the "symphony" performing several times late at night. It's reassuring to know that it's "harmless".
See you next time. Comments welcome. (As told to Tam)
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