SUBJECTIVE TONES

Auditory sensations or hallucinations in which certain notes or melodies are heard in the absence of external stimulation.A common type of subjective tone is ringing in the ears, or tinnitus. This disorder frequently accompanies acute ear ailments, such as Meniere’s disease, and disappears when the condition is remedied. It may also occur when no physical disease can be detected, and in this case may be due either to neural damage or to psychological factors. In the psychogenic cases it is usually diagnosed as a conversion, or hysterical, symptom. Various kinds of subjective sounds may also occur during the aura, or premonitory stage, that often precedes an epileptic attack.Persistent subjective tones can be extremely disturbing, as they were to the composer Robert Schumann, who suffered from aural hallucinations during his last years. He incessantly heard one particular note, an a, which made life almost unbearable for him