A preadolescent girl in Thailand heard instrumental music in both ears for about a week, even though nothing was playing and her hearing was tested as normal. The music had no lyrics, arrived during specific hours of the day, and upset her. Her case, published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, stands out less for the music itself than for what was missing: the hearing loss often found in people who experience it.
That gap matters because one of the best-studied explanations for how brains produce music no one else can hear was developed in a patient who was losing her hearing. The girl's case suggests the picture may be broader, and it shows how much is still unknown.
