I was hearing music when taking MCAT.

[ThaDude]

While taking the MCAT last time, I was hearing music with lyrics, intermittently, moreso after my lunch break and into the final sections. Initially, this was no issue as I was settling in and hearing the various background noises one might hear on exam day (shuffling, coughing, clearing throat, clicking etc).

What can I do to eliminate or manage this auditory distraction from within? I don't know if this was my brain's way of responding to the fatigue near the end of the exam or what exactly. I will say that I cannot study in complete silence. I always need ambient noise, whether background talking at the coffee shop or instrumental ambient or trance music at a soft volume in the background (without headphones).

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[bbbaaa]

I can't tell if you're saying you were hallucinating the music or if it was coming from a neighbor

 

[Doctor Bob]

Was the music telling you to do anything? To hurt yourself or others?
Were you seeing things that other people around you couldn't see?
Do you have any super powers that people around you don't have?

 

[mk04447]

I will spare you any number of snarky comments I could make here and simply make a suggestion. You'll have to work through this. Do more practice tests and recreate the environment you'll be taking the actual test in as much as possible. So many people think they are doing this exact thing, but they forgot the radio was on or they had a bottle of Gatorade on their desk. this way you will not be shocked come test day. I did a dozen or more practice tests before I was ready.

 

[ThaDude]

Thanks. I wasn't trying to sound like an idiot. When doing practice tests, it's not an issue so much. I'll do my kumbaya and Namastes before exam time I suppose. Lol

 

[ThaDude]

HPI: patient presents from MCAT exam with auditory sounds described as music from within. He denies suicidal and homicidal ideation as well as any voices telling him to hurt himself or anyone.
he denies seeing dead people, the ability to climb walls,the ability to to turn water into wine, and set things on fire with his eyes.

Was the music telling you to do anything? To hurt yourself or others?
Were you seeing things that other people around you couldn't see?
Do you have any super powers that people around you don't have?

 

[ThaDude]

I can't tell if you're saying you were hallucinating the music or if it was coming from a neighbor

I guess its kinda like an earworm with a song looping through your head.hope that that make better sense.

 

[Goro]

You might have this:

Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor.

While taking the MCAT last time, I was hearing music with lyrics, intermittently, moreso after my lunch break and into the final sections. Initially, this was no issue as I was settling in and hearing the various background noises one might hear on exam day (shuffling, coughing, clearing throat, clicking etc).

What can I do to eliminate or manage this auditory distraction from within? I don't know if this was my brain's way of responding to the fatigue near the end of the exam or what exactly. I will say that I cannot study in complete silence. I always need ambient noise, whether background talking at the coffee shop or instrumental ambient or trance music at a soft volume in the background (without headphones).

 

[trev5150]

It might be a tumor...