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Woman Has Had Same Song Playing in Her Head for Three Years

By Makini Brice | Update Date: Feb 14, 2013 12:28 PM EST

We've all had times when we've had a song that we just cannot get out of our head, no matter how hard we try. Now imagine having that feeling for an entire three years.

Susan Root has heard the 1950's novelty hit "How Much Is the Doggie in the Window?" on repeat for the past three years. During that time, she has also heard intermittently other tunes as well, like "Auld Lang Syne", "God Save the Queen" and "Happy Birthday", according to the Telegraph.

She says that the tune comes and goes, but it can always be heard faintly in the background. At times, though, she says that the music can grow so loud that she canot hear her husband Graham speak. She said to the Daily Mail that the music drives the pair crazy.

Sometimes the music even prevents her from being able to fall asleep.

Susan Root suffers from musical hallucinations, a specific form of tinnitus. Tinnitus is a condition in which a person hears a sound in their ear, despite no source for that sound.

Doctors say that there is nothing more that they can do for Ms. Root. They gave her a hearing aid in order to help fix her problem, but the music remained. Root also says that she underwent some special therapy, but that too was unsuccessful.

Tinnitus often occurs in people who are suffering from hearing loss. For many people, hearing aids do help make musical hallucinations less intrusive. The hallucinations often come in the form of short clips of simple melodies that the person first heard during their youth.

Indeed, Ms. Root says that the song was a favorite of hers while she was young. Her mother says that she would sing it often around the house. Now, she cannot stand the song.

An expert on the topic said that tinnitus can often be mistaken for a real melody, and can be particularly jarring the first times that it occurs. The songs will sound just like they did when the person first heard them, not how they would sound with the person's current hearing capabilities.

Noel Gallagher, the guitarist and songwriter for the band Oasis, revealed last month that he has a common form of tinnitus, where he suffers from a constant ringing in his ears.

As for Ms. Root, she says that she has devised a rather sample method that helps her live with the condition. She uses calming sounds, like the songs of birds or of whales, to drown out her phantom tunes.

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