PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - T A Hammeke
AU  - M P McQuillen
AU  - B A Cohen
TI  - Musical hallucinations associated with acquired deafness.
AID  - 10.1136/jnnp.46.6.570
DP  - 1983 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
PG  - 570--572
VI  - 46
IP  - 6
4099  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/46/6/570.short
4100  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/46/6/570.full
SO  - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry1983 Jun 01; 46
AB  - Two patients with auditory hallucinations beginning after a long history of progressive bilateral hearing loss were studied. The hallucinations included both unformed (tinnitus and irregular sounds of varying pitch and timbre) and formed (instrumental music, singing and voices) components, and were repetitive. They were affected by ambient noise levels; their content and speed were influenced by attentional and intentional factors. There was no evidence of global dementia, nor of epileptogenic or psychiatric disturbance. A combination of peripheral and associated central "disinhibition" may be responsible for the occurrence of such hallucinations.