The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Hearing "Phantom Sounds"
bongi
regular
regular
When I'm drifting off to sleep I hear what I can only call "phantom sounds". I know that I am not hearing them from any external source, that is to say, I am not "hearing" them per se, they're being generated somewhere in my mind. They're usually pretty loud, and sudden bursts of sound (nothing in particular, just garbled noise) for only a split second. The last one made me jump.
Is this kind of thing common? Is it the kind of thing I should be worried about? Should I see my doctor about it? It's only happened three or four times, over a period of several months (I think), so it's not a once-a-week occurence or anything.
I know that phantom smells can be a symptom of epilepsy, which is why I'm kind of concerned about it.
Is this kind of thing common? Is it the kind of thing I should be worried about? Should I see my doctor about it? It's only happened three or four times, over a period of several months (I think), so it's not a once-a-week occurence or anything.
I know that phantom smells can be a symptom of epilepsy, which is why I'm kind of concerned about it.
bongi on
0
Posts
Could be indicative of a good deal of neurological or psychological problems.
Start worrying when it happens more frequently and when you're wide awake, otherwise, I wouldn't be concerned.
Edit: I don't like "diagnosing" over the Internet, but you might want to read up on Hypnagogic hallucinations, it's the same sort of thing where you get a feeling you're falling and suddenly jerk awake. What you describe is covered pretty well by Hypnagogia, it's also completely normal and nothing at all to be concerned about.
Anosmia.
How's that for efficiency?
(also thanks for replying to my se question, hah)
One of the things that usually indicated another bout of ear infections was auditory hallucinations.
I can remember one night I woke up in the middle of the night, and I could swear that a small choir of people were singing/holding one note. Well, I was about 6 at the time, and this freaked me out, so I went and slept in my parent's bed. The next day we were off to the GP, and sure enough I had an ear infection.
Could be the same situation.
Occasionally (and more and more recently) i see things at the corner of my vision, fleeting glimpses of ... something. Its starting to freak me out as i keep thinking there is someone in my flat. Im pretty arachnophobic too, i can deal with a spider using a yellow pages/golf club but i keep thinking i seem something skittering along, making my spidersenses tingle as it were
My last opticians appointment came back saying i had 20-20 vision and everything was fine. erk!
I had that happen once as a hypnagogic hallucination. It was pretty bizarre. Usually I just hear the popping/bang sound, if anything. I get any number of weird sleep disorders if I'm stressed out or not keeping a regular sleep schedule, even though I'm perfectly sane.
Seeing a GP can't hurt, but I doubt they will tell you anything surprising.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
tvonPoonBurGer: loud pops and bangs is exactly what it's like, thanks.
Yes, that is called: Peripheral vision. Stop being paranoid.
I remember reading a really interesting article about using your peripheral vision to see into the future. Basically, what you are seeing peripherally has not happened yet. The idea that lght waves hit your eye before your mind registers it.
Off-topic a bit, but there are a bit of supernatural undertones to this thread.
Yeah, the outer edge of your visual field is naturally more receptive to movement than the inner (to prevent predators sneaking up on you). Even small flickers of shadows become more noticable, and of course when you look directly at them you see nothing as the central part of the visual field is less receptive to movement) You mention arachnophobia so it's not a big leap to assume you're only noticing it more out of anxiety (again, evolutionarily, paying more attention to peripheral vision disturbances when already spooked pays off).
If you see something out of the corner of your eye and it gets you thinking about spiders you'll be more likely to pay attention to other things you glance out of the corner of you eye.
Bastardisation of science is a horrible thing. The exact reason I went into such depth in my post above is to stop people assuming "magic" when there's a very simple scientific explanation.
However, if you hear voices in full coversation, talking to you or around you, giving you winning lotto numbers, you could be psychic. That would be neat.
the worst EVER was when a friend and i tried mushrooms for the first time and as soon as they started to kick in we got busted by his mom (we thought we did because of how paranoid we were, but in reality she just came home early and was wondering why we were watching tv in the basement at 3am), so we went straight to bed and tried to sleep. tried being the keyword there. it was like the trip was going on in my head and through these auditory hallucinations because it was too dark for us to actually see anything. it started off as a weird industrial type beat and kept building up and up (i write a lot of electronic music, and it kind of progressed in my head the way it does as i'm making it) and eventually turned into a screaming drill-like shriek, so i sat up and yelled "give me a goddamned cd! i can't sleep with this fucking noise in my head!"
ugh. awful
Thank God, I thought I was the only one. If anyone here has listened to BT- The Antikythera Mechanism, then the way the string sections towards the end distorts and stretches is what I hear. I've had it since I was about 5, it only happens every few months. Pain in the arse, but it doesn't seem to be indicative of any major brain malfunction.