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Does anybody still hear phantom Morse code in your brain after ending a session? I'm hearing random beeps that definitely don't come from an external source.

I tried to search Google but couldn't find anything on this topic.

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    $\begingroup$ Do you mean hearing Morse code in sounds that aren’t Morse code, or just hearing random beeps as you go about your day? $\endgroup$
    – Topcode
    Jan 10 at 14:11
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    $\begingroup$ How long is your session? About 40 years ago, I continued to experience that mostly visually. But I did hear CW, yes. Why visually? The lights in the room dimmed in time with the code. (High power, and excessive line voltage drop.) But this was after two days of contesting, the ARRL 160. The biphetamine Rx that my doctor wrote (so that I could stay awake during it) might have had something to do with it. Even the sky appeared to flash like the room lights on my way home. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters ♦
    Jan 10 at 14:31
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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to this site! How long after your session did you experience these auditory hallucinations? Kindly edit your question to answer the questions in these comments. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters ♦
    Jan 10 at 14:44
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    $\begingroup$ Happened to me and several friends after doing a whole field day of psk31. $\endgroup$
    – user10489
    Jan 11 at 0:13
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    $\begingroup$ @j From all the responses, it appears that amphetamines are not need to experience this. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters ♦
    Jan 11 at 13:04

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This sounds very much like an aural example of The Tetris Effect (also known as Tetris Syndrome), in which "... people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It takes its name from the video game Tetris[...] They may see colored images of pieces falling into place on an invisible layout at the edges of their visual fields or when they close their eyes."

I suspect a) you are not alone in this and that, b) by itself, it is not indicative of anything overly concerning.

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    $\begingroup$ I've experienced the phenomenon myself, and the Tetris Effect explanation fits my own speculations well. $\endgroup$
    – rclocher3 ♦
    Jan 10 at 21:16
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    $\begingroup$ Never heard of that ("Tetris Effect") but I have definite - and disturbing - memories of weeks at a time in college where I would dream in assembly language. At this distance of time I actually don't remember what the dreams really consisted of, but I definitely remember how odd it was and how long it lasted and how real the dreams were, whatever they were. $\endgroup$
    – davidbak
    Jan 10 at 21:23
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    $\begingroup$ (Separately, in college, I once balanced my checkbook in octal. Didn't catch it until the very end and had to redo the whole thing. Maybe I was spending too much time in the computer lab?) $\endgroup$
    – davidbak
    Jan 10 at 21:27
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    $\begingroup$ Excellent! I found this information which is about lingering aural sounds. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Waters ♦
    Jan 11 at 13:18
  • $\begingroup$ How will you rule out earworms? $\endgroup$
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Jan 11 at 22:20
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Towards the end of Field Day, after operating CW for many hours, one would imagine Morse Code in the background static, or even when the receiver was turned off. We laughingly called this Hamlucinations.

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    $\begingroup$ I would hear it in the wind - cracked the car window open for air and the whole way down the hill after Field Day I'd hear morse code whistling at me. Don't remember what the wind was telling me, but it was definitely words, not random letters or even just noise. $\endgroup$
    – davidbak
    Jan 10 at 21:21
  • $\begingroup$ Hamlucinations.... LOLOLOL... very clever and funny. I'm going to have to use that one... I'll send you royalties. :) $\endgroup$
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Jan 12 at 7:10
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This experience is quite common after heavy CW contest operation. I've heard it dozens of times most often in the presence of some kind of white noise such as running water, fans, etc.

Googling "auditory hallucinations white noise" gets hits on something referred to as Musical ear syndrome (MES).

Wikipedia describes it further as: a condition seen in people who have hearing loss and subsequently develop auditory hallucinations. "MES" has also been associated with musical hallucinations, which is a complex form of auditory hallucinations where an individual may experience music or sounds that are heard without an external source.

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    $\begingroup$ I've heard phantom Morse code in the shower after many a CW contest. $\endgroup$
    – rclocher3 ♦
    Jan 10 at 21:12
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Yes, in one peculiar way. After many hours of CW, my ears become attuned to my sidetone frequency. Noises in the world that are of that frequency seem louder and grab my attention easier. I don't actually hear CW, but I do take a moment to decide that that sidetone frequency that I'm hearing is not actually CW, but just some incidental noise.

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