Readers respond on hearing radio through their teeth

A while ago, I wrote a column about my wife, Gale, who told me she was hearing talk radio in her head. I researched this, and I'm convinced that Gale is picking up radio signals through her teeth.

In the column, I invited readers to submit their experiences. The following are some accounts from my mailbag. I'm using only first names in case these readers would rather not have anyone else know about the radios in their heads.

“I am so glad someone wrote about this, because now I know I'm not as far over the hill as I thought! I have a metal jaw joint. I do not notice the music or talking while there is noise around me. However, when I go to bed at night, I can hear the talking and the radio. It is not clear, and not loud. I had asked my husband several times if he heard people talking or music playing, and he thinks I am talking in my sleep. I really DO hear the radio and pick it up with my jaw. Now, if only we could tune in the TV, we could get rid of the cable bill!” – Susie

“I had the exact experience picking up TV through my teeth. The first couple of times, I asked my husband if he had left the TV on. That's how clear I could hear it. The voices were somewhat tinny but very distinct. It was always ‘The Tonight Show’ with Johnny Carson, which we never watched. I could hear the guest celebrities being introduced, the jokes, everything. It was completely unnerving. The next day, I would check the newspaper from the night before and, sure enough, those exact guests were listed. Tell Gale that she is totally sane!!” – Lisa

“I have been picking up various local radio stations in my head. No one else around me can seem to hear them. It started about six years ago at my parents' home, which was in the middle of nowhere. I tried turning off everything in the house, even all of the circuit breakers. Later, I could pick up several different stations at my own house, which also has no nearby neighbors. Depending on my location in the house, I could hear a Christian station, a talk-radio station, the local rock one, or, very rarely, a country one. I have no idea what is going on. Sometimes it isn't a big deal, kinda like my own private iPod. But sometimes, like when it is something I don't like, it's frustrating.” – Kelly

“I have experienced this for most of my life and never thought anything of it. I always thought that my mind was simply replaying a song I heard that week or something like that. My brother told me he has experienced this same thing although I tend to hear hip hop and he hears classical. For both of us, the music we hear is stuff we hadn't heard before. We do both have metal fillings. I think this is a lot more common than we believe.” – Jesse

“What your wife is experiencing actually served as part of the plot of the 1944 Broadway musical ‘Something for the Boys,’ with songs by Cole Porter and starring Ethel Merman. This plot synopsis is from the Internet Movie Database: ‘The oddly assorted Hart cousins: revue singer Blossom, con man Harry, and machinist Chiquita (who gets radio through her teeth!), inherit Southern plantation Magnolia Manor, which, alas, proves to be a termite trap and tax liability. Fortunately, Sgt. Rocky Fulton from a nearby army camp appears with a plan to convert the place to a hotel for army wives; but to pay bills until then, they decide to put on a show. Of course, romantic and military complications intervene.’" – Dennis.