Do You Hear Games' Sounds After You're Done Playing? You're Not Alone, Study Finds

Sometimes after a long session of playing a video game, some people will continue to hear the game's sounds in their minds. According to a new study, this can be an actual psychological effect of playing games, and it's called a "Game Transfer Phenomenon."

Previous studies have found other Game Transfer Phenomena that manifest themselves in visual responses, such as Tetris players continuing to see blocks falling even after they close their eyes. This research, conducted by Nottingham Trent University's International Gaming Research Unit, is the first such study to determine a link between video games and auditory responses.

As reported by The Guardian, researcher Angelica Ortiz De Gortari explains that players heard many different sounds from games after they were done playing them. “There were lots of examples of players hearing the game music, in the same way as you continue to hear music in your head when you've stopped listening,” she said. “Some players heard voices, some heard game sounds. Often it happens when you're trying to fall asleep--players would look for their computer or console because they thought they'd left the game on.”

There were also other, more unique examples of players hearing sounds, such as a person who heard music from Portal after passing buildings that reminded him of in-game structures. Additionally, according to De Gortari, “There was a gamer who, whenever it was dark, would hear the sound of the crackling radio signal from Silent Hill, warning him that monsters were coming.”

It's important to note that this study was conducted on a small group of people and still is in a preliminary stage. The researchers do not know enough yet to explain why this happens, either. And yet, it's still an interesting phenomenon, one that I occasionally experience myself.

Do you ever experience Game Transfer Phenomena? Let us know in the comments!