I've been working up the nerve to write about this. This is the strangest experience of my life. About 3-4 years ago, I thought that I was hearing a neighbor's radio or an outdoor concert nearby. The sound was very faint. I realized that the music was repeating at times, as though a record (remember those?) had a scratch.

Then, some time after, the experience of hearing music in my head began full throttle. It was across all genres of music (Broadway shows, rock from the 50's - 70's, country, spirituals, etc., very realistic, some from childhood and later, faithfully reproduced. It can really sound like Grace Slick, Neil Young, Moody Blues, etc. Some was unrecognizable, unfamiliar. I heard instrumental pieces, choral with male and female voices, complex and sometimes beautiful harmonies and arrangements. I could hear the original artists' voices, sometimes my or my mother's singing voice, my grandfather or someone singing in Hebrew, 1950's and 60's children's music, t.v. show themes and jingles from early childhood. It eventually faded away, but then after weeks or months, it would return. It will play in my head all day long when it's occurring, usually the same tune for hours.

I can substitute another tune by thinking about it, but I can't stop it, until it finally disappears again on its own. I've also influenced the melody by playing an "air piano keyboard". Sometimes, if I listen to actual music, after it stops, I'll hear it accurately reproduced in my head. I was stunned when I first experienced that. It's incredible that the brain is capable of all this. It's as though some unconscious and autonomous part of the brain has stored a wealth of music of a lifetime. Old-time Christian hymns sung by a congregation, accompanied by a pump organ (??). It must have been on a movie sound track. Gregorian chant-type singing. It's often in minor chords, slow, and melancholy, sung by a male choir. Tunes will also morph into others with similar musical phrases. It's like a photographic memory but for sound. It's always faint, as though from several rooms away, but also clearly coming from within my head.

Research indicates that people who have some hearing loss, and not enough auditory stimulation in their environment experience this "I-pod in the head" or "Musical Ear Syndrome", as it's been called. It's been associated with OCD. EEG's and MRI's have been normal. It's been fascinating at times, incredibly bizarre (I've had two Hank Williams tunes playing at once), and frequently really annoying. It started up again almost 2 weeks ago, and I'm trying to wait it out. I'm getting really really sick of Danny Boy and Amazing Grace.

So, does anybody else have this experience?? I have read about it online, and read posts from people with similar experiences. even Oliver Sachs, neurologist and author, has this phenomenon and wrote about it in Musicophilia, one of his recent books about music and the brain. Apparently, the brain is hard-wired for music, and wants to create patterns from random environmental sounds like motors and running water. Interesting stuff, but more interesting if it were happening to someone else.