2019 Volume 62 Issue 4 Pages 315-325
Musical hallucinations refer to the phenomenon whereby subjects hear music or melody in the absence of any external sound source. We report the clinical features of musical hallucinations and the effectiveness of therapy using hearing aids. Among patients with tinnitus who visited our clinic from January 2011 to October 2018, 23 patients complained of musical hallucinations. Out of the 23 patients, 11 patients desired to receive sound therapy using hearing aids. Musical hallucinations were most common among elderly women. Out of the 23 patients, 22 had sensorineural hearing loss and none of the patients had psychiatric disease. After treatment, significant improvement was observed in the total scores on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS: loudness and discomfort of tinnitus). Our study suggested that sound therapy using hearing aids is an effective treatment for musical hallucinations caused by hearing loss. Furthermore, it is desirable for musical hallucinations with hearing loss to be treated mainly by otolaryngologists.
