Musical Ear Syndrome: Prevalence and characteristics in cochlear implant bearers.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Retrospective observational cohort study without an external control group
PubMed 33257264 · doi:10.1016/j.anorl.2020.11.005
What was done
A retrospective study was conducted in 358 adult cochlear implant recipients (aged >18 years in 2020) who underwent implantation between 1993 and 2019 to evaluate the prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors of Musical Ear Syndrome (MES).
What was found
Of 358 patients, 118 (33%) reported musical auditory sensations: 71 (19.8%) before implantation, 100 (28%) after, and 53 (14.8%) both before and after. Sensations were typically brief, instrumental, well-tolerated, and occurred multiple times daily, though 13 patients (11%) found them intolerable. Fatigue was a trigger in 40 patients (33.9%). MES-positive patients were significantly younger than MES-negative patients (56 ± 17.4 years vs. 61.9 ± 17.9 years; P = 0.0009). Implant type, make, etiology, medical characteristics, and tinnitus were not significant risk factors, and subjective implant satisfaction was unaffected.
Why it matters
This paper demonstrates that musical auditory sensations are relatively common in cochlear implant users, particularly younger individuals, but usually do not impair subjective auditory performance or satisfaction.
Limits
The retrospective design covering implantations across a 26-year span carries significant risk of recall bias, particularly for pre-implantation symptoms. The abstract does not report data on non-implanted control groups, formal psychiatric evaluations, or standardized symptom severity scales.
Cited by
- partial Profoundly deaf candidates for cochlear implants can experience musical hallucinations before surgery, which often resolve after cochlear implantation restores speech hearing.