It is postulated that by the "release phenomenon" MES is caused by hypersensitivity in the auditory cortex caused by sensory deprivation, secondary to their hearing loss. This "hole" in the hearing range is "plugged" by the brain confabulating a piece of information – in this case a piece of music. A similar occurrence is seen with strokes of the visual cortex where a visual field defect occurs and the brain conjures a piece of visual data to fill the spot. This is described by sufferers as an image in the visual field. The hallucinations are usually not unpleasant but may cause irritation due to their persistent nature. It is common for sufferers to have a history of tinnitus. Investigations such as magnetic resonance imaging or CT scanning and electroencephalograms (EEGs) may be worthwhile, but will rarely show any serious pathology. It is believed that because this kind of phenomenon is usually heterogenous in causation, a wide variety of factors need to be considered, which could give possible explanation for why MES is seen as under diagnosed. Some of these factors may include significant trauma to the head or any side-effects from substances such as antidepressants, marijuana, alcohol, procaine, or general anesthesia. MES may occur even when there are little to no symptoms are derived from medical testing.
Musical ear syndrome
Red ear syndrome
Tonic tensor tympani syndrome
Vibroacoustic disease
Nasal vestibulitis
Oculoauricular syndrome
Achiria
Wind turbine syndrome