Endaural phenomena are sounds that are heard without any external acoustic stimulation. Endaural means "in the ear". Phenomena include transient
ringing in the ears (that sound like
sine tones),
white noise
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...
-like sounds, and subjective
tinnitus
Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...
. Endaural phenomena need to be distinguished from
otoacoustic emission
An otoacoustic emission (OAE) is a sound that is generated from within the inner ear. Having been predicted by Austrian astrophysicist Thomas Gold in 1948, its existence was first demonstrated experimentally by British physicist David Kemp in 19 ...
s, in which a person's ear emits sounds. The emitter typically cannot hear the sounds made by his or her ear. Endaural phenomena also need to be distinguished from
auditory hallucinations
An auditory hallucination, or paracusia, is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory stimulus. While experiencing an auditory hallucination, the affected person hears a sound or sounds that did not come from the ...
, which are sometimes associated with
psychosis
In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...
.
See also
*
Bruit
Bruit, also called vascular murmur, is the abnormal sound generated by turbulent flow of blood in an artery due to either an area of partial obstruction or a localized high rate of blood flow through an unobstructed artery.
The bruit may be hea ...
*
Entoptic phenomenon
Entoptic phenomena (), occasionally and incorrectly referred to as entopic phenomena, are visual effects whose source is within the human eye itself.
In Helmholtz's words: "Under suitable conditions, light falling on the eye may render visible, ...
References
Medical terminology
Psychoacoustics
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