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Musical hallucinations in a deaf elderly patient
Author(s) -
Miller Timothy C.,
Crosby T. W.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410050314
Subject(s) - psychosis , perception , psychology , dementia , visual hallucination , audiology , musical , sensory deprivation , hearing loss , psychiatry , developmental psychology , medicine , sensory system , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , art , disease , pathology , visual arts
A remarkably observant 89‐year‐old woman experienced the abrupt onset of musical hallucinations on the background of longstanding progressive hearing loss and in the absence of psychosis or major dementia. These hallucinations were nearly constant, well‐formed perceptions of religious hymns, and their content could be altered by several mechanisms. The patient also occasionally heard voices recapitulating childhood experiences. One can speculate that the syndrome relates to sensory deprivation.