earheard

Earheard is a term used to describe the subjective experience of hearing sounds in the absence of an external auditory source. It encompasses internal auditory imagery such as imagined melodies, spoken voices, or environmental sounds that are perceived through the ears rather than as mental pictures. The phenomenon lies at the intersection of auditory imagery, tinnitus, and perceptual hallucination, but it is not a clinical diagnosis in itself. In practice, earheard can range from brief tonal impressions to sustained scenes of listening.

The term is a neologism that emerged in online writing and discussion communities in the early 2020s. It is formed from ear and heard and is used as a noun (an earhear), an adjective (earheard), and occasionally as a verb (to earhear a sound) in informal contexts. The concept has found particular resonance among musicians, poets, and fans who describe inner soundscapes as part of creative process or sensory exploration.

Characteristics commonly reported include vividness, perceived realism, and variability in control; episodes may be triggered by memory, emotion, sleep transitions, or deliberate imagination. While usually benign, earheard can resemble perceptual anomalies in some individuals, and distinguishing it from clinical phenomena requires careful assessment.

See also: auditory imagery, tinnitus, auditory hallucination, inner ear.