- Acclaimed conservationist has been struck down with a musical form of tinnitus
- The condition causes him to hear 1940s marching brass bands and bagpipes
- It is a rarely reported phenomenon because people fear it is a sign of psychosis
Bill Oddie has been struck down with a condition that causes him to hear music playing in his left ear — and it’s often the bagpipes.
The acclaimed conservationist and former Goodie also experiences brass bands randomly bursting into song, due to the form of tinnitus.
The phenomenon often goes unreported because sufferers fear the symptoms could be an indicator of psychiatric illness or dementia.
‘It’s been going on for about four months and there is no pattern to when or why it starts,’ Bill told the BBC’s Springwatch.
The acclaimed conservationist and former Goodie also experiences brass bands randomly bursting into song, due to the form of tinnitus
The phenomenon often goes unreported because sufferers fear the symptoms could be an indicator of psychiatric illness or dementia
The 76-year-old began suffering his musical ailment earlier this year while working in his office at his London home
‘It’s a military-style band of the 1940s but not as nice as a Glenn Miller swing sound.
‘It varies quite a bit and it is difficult to distinguish a tune but nearly every day it involves a bagpipe solo.
‘At the moment I can live with it but I’d rather not. I’m intrigued and wonder how many other people have experienced something similar.’
The 76-year-old began suffering his musical ailment earlier this year while working in his office at his London home.
‘I thought someone had left the radio on so I followed the noise but it was coming with me, which was weird,’ he added.
Dr Will Sedley, a lecturer in neurology at Newcastle University, told the Express: ‘It is more common than you might think although we believe it goes unreported because people are worried that they will be thought of as going mad.
‘But this is a stand-alone condition and not normally a feature of any wider disorder such as dementia.’