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Music instead of alcohol? It happens!
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Some people experience nausea and dizziness after listening to music, as if they were drunk. It turns out that music can affect not only the auditory receptors, but also the vestibular apparatus.
Intoxication without alcohol is not a metaphorical phrase, but a reality. Many people note that a certain frequency range of sound vibrations causes dizziness, increased heart rate, nausea. Such a reaction is found not only to music, but also to sounds reproduced in a certain frequency spectrum. Experts explain that such a condition occurs in people suffering from a congenital defect affecting the hearing apparatus. Such a defect is called dehiscence of the semicircular canals.
Most of us know what the human organ of sound perception is. It is a whole system of hollow bone formations that form the cochlea with the vestibule and semicircular canals (part of the vestibular apparatus). In most people, the auditory and equilibrium sections are separated by a bone membrane. However, 90 years ago, scientist Pietro Tulio discovered that the membrane in question can be excessively thin, or even mesh-like. Perhaps this is what somehow influences the appearance of intoxication when listening to music.
What specific processes occur in the "wrong" system of the inner ear when reproducing sounds belonging to a certain frequency range? Experts representing the University of Utah explained this using the example of a specific fish that has auditory and vestibular organs similar to those of humans.
Both fish and humans have a special liquid medium in the cavities of the semicircular canals. When the body moves and its position changes, this liquid also starts moving, which is recorded by special cellular structures that send signals to the brain. As a response, the brain coordinates the function of the muscles to maintain balance and keep the gaze on the required point. The cochlea also contains liquid that vibrates under the influence of acoustic waves. Such vibrations are felt by the auditory structures.
When the bone membrane between the auditory and vestibular apparatus is too thin or even contains holes, the mechanical vibrations that should activate the auditory organ mistakenly affect the vestibular organ. As a result, the cells of the semicircular canals "think" that the person is moving, and the brain responds accordingly.
If the membrane is in really bad shape, then sounds of a certain frequency can make a person dizzy or sick. Scientists emphasize that sounds must have a certain frequency, because false musical intoxication is not a reaction to any noise. This phenomenon in the form of dehiscence of the semicircular canals does not happen to everyone, but only to ten people out of a thousand. In severe cases, surgical treatment is used to correct the auditory membrane.
The results of the scientific work are described in the publication Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28592-7).