Musical obsessions

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common psychiatric illness. A case of OCD is presented, in which the chief symptom was recurrent imagery of musical sounds of different instruments experienced by the person. Patient was a musician who played various musical instruments. Such obsessions with predominant musical themes, lyrics, and tunes have not been described in detail in standard textbooks of psychiatry or phenomenology, nor are they considered in the various diagnostic procedures for OCD. These symptoms are rare and may, at times, go unnoticed because of low clinical awareness.