Hello and update

[Guest guest]

Hi gang,

I miss you all, I have been meaning to post, but still plagued by this darn

carpal tunnel pain, and now a new symptom, I recently posted about it on

sci.med.diseases.lyme. To save wear and tear on my fingers, I will copy my post

here:

I have not been following the Lyme newsgroup

lately, mainly because I have been suffering from

Musical Hallucinations, and doing all the

research I can about it. My neurologist is out

of town till the end of this month and I have not

advised him yet of this problem. Imagine my

surprise when I learned from a nice person on the

neurology forums that this very subject was being

discussed here on this group!

My problem of hearing music started about a

month ago. At first I feared I was losing my

mind, it began with hymn music, sounding like a

church choir of altos harmonizing. I did not

know what to call this, so I searched the net in

vain for a few weeks. Finally I came across the

Reuters article that Amy posted,

Musical hallucinations linked to brain disorders

NEW YORK, Aug 07 (Reuters Health) - Stroke often robs the ability to speak or to

move an arm or leg. For a handful of people, stroke or other brain disorders

have

another effect-- " musical hallucinations " in which patients hear a constant

melody.

Now doctors have zeroed in on the part of the brain responsible for the bizarre

symptom.

Lesions in a part of the brain stem called the dorsal pons seem to be behind the

11

reported cases of musical hallucinations, researchers report in the August issue

of

Neurology. Dr. Eva Schielke and her colleagues at University Hospital Charite in

Berlin, Germany, describe the case of one 57-year-old man whose bout with

meningitis caused him to hear a boys' choir singing folk tunes.

The patient only became aware of the hallucinations several hours after they

began,

and, according to Schielke's team, he thought he was hearing a " celebration " in

the

schoolyard near the hospital. His musical interludes lasted for 5 weeks.

Only 10 other such cases have been reported. When musical hallucinations occur,

it

is usually among psychiatric patients or older people who have gone deaf.

Schielke told Reuters Health that among people who lose their hearing, this

long-term sensory deprivation leads to a " release of musical memories. " In the

case

of her patient and the 10 others, however, lesions on the dorsal pons seem to

" interrupt " certain nerve fibers in the brain stem.

No one knows why these patients hear music in particular, according to Schielke.

And while some of them are " mildly annoyed " by the hallucinations, others find

it a

" pleasant distraction, " she said.

SOURCE: Neurology 2000;55:454-455.

This certainly

made sense that this was my problem. I searched

further now that I had a name for it, and found

some other articles.

I have this condition 24/7, the only time I

lose the music is if I am watching TV or

listening to the radio, sleeping, or talking on

the phone. The moment I put my feet on he floor

in the morning it starts. Lately, I am hearing

other songs, most I recognize from my childhood,

I hear voices singing just as if I were listening

to a radio or CD. Also I am hearing Patriotic

songs, like " America, the beautiful " and the

" Marine Corps Hymn " also the song " Tonight "

from West Side story which I saw first when I was 12

years old, " Oh Suzanna " and Christmas music.

Articles I have read indicate that this usually

happens to people who are partially or totally

deaf, and have brain disorders. I have worn a

hearing aid since age 35, I am now 50. Songs

heard are usually from their childhood. There is

no way I can pick and choose what I want to hear,

hard as I try, it plays what it wants. This

makes me believe that this is coming from the

part of the brain that controls musical memory.

Since my tick bite of four years ago, my most

recent MRI of the brain indicate three lesions

on my brain. I also had a PET scan in Feb 2000

that showed significant hypometabolism in

temporal lobes bilaterally, also

bilateral hypometabolism in the parietal lobes.

The conclusion by the Radiologist was either

early Alzheimer's or Late stage Lyme disease.

I have seen recommendations on other forums

that seizure meds may help. I already take

1800mg of Neurontin daily and have for some time.

I am extremely concerned about this, it does not

appear to be OCD to me, I feel like I am a time

bomb waiting for a stroke to happen. I wish I

knew what could be done about this, it seems to

be rare, and no one can tell me how long this

will last, if it lasts much longer I think I will

fall apart. Here is an article I found on the

net, sorry, I forgot to note the website address.

Musical Hallucinations

Musical hallucinations are very interesting

because they can arise from almost any place and

are usually familiar tunes of a person's

childhood.

The type of musical hallucinations experienced

are wide and varied and may range from simple

tones to orchestral music. Some patients

experience different songs and types of music

when they hallucinate, while others hear the same

music every time. It is hard to gather from data of

musical hallucinations whether there is a common

source of hallucinations such as a distant or

close

perceived sources since studies do not usually

record these ( Keshavan et al, 1992). Many of

those who experience musical hallucinations are

clinically deaf and the sound appears to come

from outer objective space (fancy word for

externally).

What sorts of diseases and pathological

conditions typically give rise to musical

hallucinations? Three theories have emerged for

the possible pathophysiological attributes of

musical hallucinations. The first theory is called

the neuronal irritation theory. It is just what it

sounds like-an irritation of the neurons.

Stimulation of certain neuronal machinery may

trigger associated memories on a cellular level

that are perceived as a " revisiting " of that

musical

phenomena. Stimulation studies done by Wilder

Penfield have caused musical hallucinations and

this mechanism has been suggested as a reason

for this.

Another theory is called the perceptual release

theory. This view maintains that a particular

sense

organ (in this case, the ear) must maintain a

minimal amount of stimulation in order to suppress

spontaneous perceptions. When there is such a

decrease in perceptual stimulus that it falls

below

the threshold amount of stimulation, musical

hallucinations may develop.

A seemingly consistent phenomenon in musical

hallucinations seems to be that the hallucinations

are usually " blasts from the past " . People who

have musical hallucinations hear songs and

musical tunes that they knew in the past. This

suggests that they come from musical traces but

the mechanism by which they are released is a

mystery.

Localization of brain areas associated with

musical hallucinations is an area that is

currently

being tested , but there are so many variables

involved in the imaging and interpretations that

no conclusive area involvement has been

determined. It has been noticed that stimulation

of the superior temporal convolution (part of the

cortex of the brain) causes musical hallucinations

in the ear that is on the other side of the part

stimulated.

Me again,

If anyone knows more about this phenomena, please

let me know via private email. I know that

Oliver Sacks mentioned patients with this

condition in his book, " The Man who Mistook his

wife for a Hat. "

I should add that I am not musically inclined,

and have NOT listened to music even on my car

radio since I was in my 20's, preferring the talk

shows. I always thought my I lost interest in

music because I could not hear all the notes due

to my hearing loss.

I have been keeping up with reading

posts daily, I hope you are all well, but I know better.

Help if you can,

Marta