Music to the Ears: An Unusual Case of Frontal Lobe Stroke With Complex Auditory Hallucinations

Abstract

Auditory hallucinations are defined as the perception of sensory auditory input in the absence of an external stimulus. It is a multifaceted pathology with a range of symptoms and an even wider range of possible underlying causes. Its lack of true distinctive clinical features along with overlapping symptoms makes distinguishing between etiologies difficult without appropriate workup. Here, we present an unusual case of left frontal lobe ischemic infarction, resulting in complex musical auditory hallucinations in the absence of behavioral changes.

The phenomenon of musical hallucinations: An updated review

“…We reviewed case reports that described etiologies such as left frontal lobe ischemic infarction, right frontotemporal stroke, traumatic brain injury, intracerebral hemorrhage, thalamocortical auditory radiation infarction, pontine lacunar lesions, pituitary macroadenoma, and right temporal ischemic stroke [10,21,25,26,40,48,49,52]. MHs are common in patients having epilepsy or multiple sclerosis [35,43].…”