Stop the music.

Some people have an ear for music. In rare cases, however, people have music in their ears. That, at least, was the strange experience of a 70-year-old woman described in the Sept. 5 NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 

The woman sought the help of James R. Allen of the Minneapolis Clinic of Psychiatry and Neurology in October 1981 because, for three perplexing weeks, an invisible radio had been playing in her ears. Its repertoire, which consisted mostly of songs from the 1930s and 1940s, lasted all day unless other noise interfered with it. The woman's friends and neighbors verified that their apartments were not the source of the music. She checked with local radio stations to make sure the hearing aids she wears in both ears were not picking up their signals. Even in a soundproof room, the torturous tunes continued to plague her. At ther priest's request, she had previously provided guidelines for her funeral ceremony, which included a request that "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" be played. But after hearing it in her head over 50 times, she nixed that plan.

Allen, a neurologist, found the woman to be in god mental shape with normal brain wave patterns. Her only physical problems were otosclerosis, an ear infection that can interfere with hearing, and arthritis. A clue to the nature of her problem appeared when she told Allen she was taking 12 aspirin tablets per day. Her blood level of the active chemical in aspirin was much greater than what is considered normal during aspirin treatment. Within days of starting a 6-tablet-per-day regimen, she reported that the music had stopped. So far, there has not been a reprise.

Large doses of aspirin taken over an extended period can cause a ringing in the ears or even hearing loss, says Allen. But this is apparently the only case, he notes, of an aspirin-induced songfest; the contributions of an ongoing ear infection and anxiety created by being asked to complete "funeral instructions" are unclear. One thing is for sure: If the musical reaction could be controlled, aspirin sales would rocket, while Sony Walkmans would become technological relics.