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My grandfather considers himself a skeptic. His wife (my grandmother) recently passed away, and ever since, he swears that he can hear distant ethereal music late at night, every night, and only in the upper story of his household.

Many people have claimed to experience similar phenomena. Although not identical, here are some other instances of similar occurences. I've seen this dubbed "clairaudience" numerous times.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

What are some psychological or neurological explanations for this type of experience?

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Can you provide examples of people claiming this? – Sklivvz♦ Apr 3 '12 at 20:08
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@Sklivvz - I remember reading about this in a one of those "Unsolved Mysteries" type books back in the day. Let me see if I can remember the precise name for it as it was under something like "celestial sounds" or "celestial music" and people claimed to hear an angelic choir in the sky. – Rob Z Apr 3 '12 at 20:14
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Your first link gives the syndrome a name (Musical Hallucinosis), a description of the syndrome, an idea of the prevalence, and interview with an expert and a scientific hypothesis of the cause. What more are you hoping to get in an answer here? Let us know why you aren't happy with that so we don't just repeat it. [See also Auditory Hallucinations.] – Oddthinking♦ Apr 3 '12 at 23:41
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I don't have time to look for links right now, but Oliver Sacks is a neurologist who has written about this phenomenon. I think it was a chapter in "The man who mistook his wife for a hat", but I'd guess there's even more in his new book, "Musicophilia: Tales of music and the brain". – Ana Apr 4 '12 at 9:56
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I'm just curious why you mention the fact that your grandmother died? Why is this related to his recent auditory experiences? You or your grandfather are already building a tie that is not necessarily there. – Raskolnikov Apr 4 '12 at 10:00
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