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serenityNOW's avatar

Can you dream a sound so loud it causes ear damage?

Asked by serenityNOW (3643points) March 11th, 2010

For months, every morning I was waking up with clogged ears, so I just got to thinking…

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11 Answers

Snarp's avatar

No. Dreams don’t produce any actual sound, it all happens inside your brain, so it can’t do physical damage to your ears.

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

At first I was like ‘hell, I don’t have to dream it, it’s outside of my window every damn morning or when passing by the grocery, etc’ but then I actually read your detail section and no I don’t think one can dream a sound that would damage them.

MissAnthrope's avatar

I don’t know for certain, but I imagine not. Ear damage would be caused by excessive external vibration (sound). Now, it’s amazing how powerful the mind is, so the clogged ears could be psychosomatic in response to the loud dream sounds, but I highly doubt your ears would truly be damaged.

unique's avatar

damage would be mechanical…where as dream sounds are psychological.

ubersiren's avatar

What a great question! My first instinct is to say, “no” but I really have no clue. I know @Snarp said that it all happens in your brain, (truth) but what if it were possible to damage that part of your brain by dreaming/thinking something. All kinds of stuff is possible in your psyche. What we experience in life can have traumatic effects on the nervous system leading to all sorts of disorders. The damage in this case wouldn’t be to the actual auditory organs, but the part of the brain that controls it. Interesting!

the100thmonkey's avatar

The clogged ears could be related to a low-level ear or throat infection.

ZEPHYRA's avatar

No, it doesn’t happen, but I can scream so loud during my frequent night terrors that I will soon be causing permanent ear damage to those around me! I have been told that I can be heard a floor above and a floor below my apartment. I often suffer from night terrors and wish I could find a way to reduce them! Sorry for my irrelevant answer, I got carried away!

hearkat's avatar

As noted, it is the physical vibration of the loud sounds that damage the inner hair cells of the cochlea, so no… the sound on perceives in a dream will not physically damage your hearing.

The sensation of clogged ears in the morning is likely due to allergies or ‘environmental sensitivities’ and dust mites in your bedding or down in your comforter, or perhaps a furry pet are probably to blame.

Snarp's avatar

Maybe the clogged ears are causing you to dream loud sounds.

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