What about when wearing (really good) noise cancelling head phones? Everything you’ve mentioned is when there is some sort of noise going on, but it’s it also happening with everything cancelled out? A few people have pointed out Auditory Pareidoilia which is your brain trying to find words/pattern/meaning in the noise it is hearing, but is it also doing that when the only sound it can hear is it’s own blood whooshing though your veins, which it should be used to? What about in a sensory deprivation tank?

There’s Hearing - which is what the all the tiny bits of your ears connected to the nerves do, then there’s Perception - which is how your brain interprets the information it receives from the nerves connected to your ears and puts it back together. Basically, your brain is working overtime to try to figure out why you are listening to the noise you are listening to. As long as it’s only happening in those situations described and, as others have said, it’s not voices telling to do anything.

I’m not sure I experience exactly what you describe - I’d describe what I hear as a radio just barely audible in the background. I only experience it when I’m about to fall asleep or supposed to be getting up.

Ten or so years ago after a really long day of school I flopped down in bed and noticed it and I made a conscious decision to listen rather than move. Ever since it happens a couple times a month now. I’ve never found it concerning and it’s maybe almost comforting, like, “oh, that thing is back.”

It’s exactly like a soft radio where you’re only catching bits and pieces of what’s being said. Sometimes I recognize unusual words I heard from that day, the voices are distinct and can be female or male. I can’t decide if I can influence what’s being said or not. I do think the harder I pay attention the more coherent things start to sound.

My feeling is that bits of what I’ve heard throughout the day, or maybe longer, are getting played back to me. But I’ve never recognized any of the voices of heard anything said that I could identify as verbatim from the day.

As we get older, our bodies start to wear down. If something starts to fray, it’s generally not a problem unless you completely ignore it until the little problem becomes a big problem.

Don’t get freaked out by some of the words thrown around in these responses. You should probably invest in an annual medical checkup, this is a great thing to ask them.

That’s a referral to a series of specialists and probably an MRI or two at minimum. Cancer is a deeply shitty way to die, go talk to your doctor ASAP.

See a GP

This is not something for Lemmy to solve. This is something for a psychiatrist to solve.

You should go see a psychiatrist if you can. This definitely sounds like early schizophrenia and a lot of people ignore the early signs before it’s too late. With medications a normal life is possible so don’t worry.

dude your brain is doing a ton of things all the time youre not directly aware of. youre just accidentally being made aware of your brains background noise.

if it comes into focus (you can hear and understand sustained voices/noises) , see a doctor.

otherwise it seems like the normal background brain chatter ive dealt with my whole life.

zeroth of all, don’t ask randos on internet for medical advice. ask a doc about it if it’s distressing for you. this might be something as benign as normal reaction to sensory deprivation

I have this, the fan sounds I can hear music in there, and to me it sounds like it’s coming in my ears, not from my brain. Running water can do the same.

Yes it’s hallucinatory but no way is it pathological unless you start believing the voices are real and talking to you.

It’s pretty normal, brains try to meaning or something in its senses. Sometimes if you hear tapping you may start believing it’s the beat to a certain song. There is also of course that viral video that makes you hear “brainstorm” or “green needle” depending on which option you are mentally choosing.

If you expect to hear something you will hear it. There have been funny moments where I removed my earbuds, put them down, and I kept listening to the faintly playing music. I put them back in 30 seconds later and I realized they were muted the whole time

Humans in general tend to occasionally hear voices that aren’t there, but if it’s happening as often as you describe, you should definitely get it checked out.

Auditory hallunications can be anything from stress to brain tumours to early signs of schizophrenia. If it is medical, your treatment options will only be better if you catch it early. If it isn’t medical in nature (physical or mental), you should at least get some guidance of where to go next once doctors and psychiatrists have ruled out serious issues.

I don’t believe tinnitus and other such hearing damage will manifest in voices (though I have read that there is an unfortunate brain component to tinnitus that makes physical treatment rather difficult), this will usually manifest in continuous noise or simply not hearing some sounds. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that whatever you’re suffering from may be made worse by your brain trying to fill the gaps in your damaged hearing, but I wouldn’t expect it to be your primary concern.

You should seek medical aid, and fast. If there is some kind of tumor or other form of brain damage affecting your speech center, your condition may be operable. If mental issues are starting to surface, you can often live a much longer, happier, healthier life with fewer symptoms if you can get medication/therapy/guidance early.

Of course it’s possible that you just have really good hearing that somehow gets amplified by white noise, but I wouldn’t assume that until serious trouble has been ruled out.

As said by others; see a physician, then a psychiatrist (in that order).

Auditory pseudo-hallucinations may be completely benign, especially if you’ve partaken in psychedelic substances recent or long since past, but they may also be an early warning sign of (like you said) potential pressure on the brain or abnormality in brain functioning.

And even that might be fine.

Either way, why gamble? Go see a doctor.

Wow, lots of comments.

Before having read any replies, I’d already scheduled a doctor visit. Tinnitus being my first guess. Still, it’s limited to specific circumstances, and I have near-perfect pitch, so I thought maybe my mind was simply consuming/interpreting additional data. Still, it will be investigated.

I found the Schizophrenia comments… interesting, because it does run in the family. I will make sure the physician is thorough and considers all possibilities.

Sometimes the white noise videos on YouTube actually have people in and noises in the background. Some are actual airplane engines.