A Brief Look at Auditory Hallucinations

Every child in the study reported auditory hallucinations, which seems to be the main hallucination surrounding childhood Schizophrenia. These hallucinations were usually some sort of command, given to them by a wide range of sources, such as animals, people they actually know, fictional characters, malevolent forces, or people they have made up. Visual hallucinations were less prominent than auditory hallucinations, but still apparent in over 50 percent of the children. Tactile hallucinations were reported in only 25 percent of the children. These hallucinations were comparable to those that young adults with Schizophrenia experience, but were much less complex and only lasted between one week and one and a half years.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behaviour and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and inactivity. A person with schizophrenia often hears voices, experiences delusions and hallucinations and may believe thoughts, feelings and actions are controlled or shared by someone else.

Auditory hallucinations can contribute to a range of secondary psychopathologies including depression (e.g. Escher, Delespaul, Romme, Buiks, & Van Os, 2003). Interventions are primarily pharmacological (Lehman et al. 2004) however adverse side-effects and high rates of non-compliance have prompted the emergence of alternative treatments such as individual CBT. This has proven effective in the treatment of symptoms of schizophrenia (Wykes, Steel, Everitt, & Tarrier, 2008). Group CBT interventions has been developed to improve accessibility of treatment and has incorporated psychological models of auditory hallucinations and psychosis (Morrison, 1998) by including psychoeducation, coping strategy enhancement and cognitive-behavioural formulation as well as psychosocial techniques (Chadwick & Birchwood, 1996).

Auditory hallucination is a fundamental presentation observed in patients suffering from schizophrenia. It is one of the frequently occurring symptoms considered to be disabling in schizophrenia, but despite vast and numerous organized studies undertaken in this area in order to comprehend the pathophysiology of auditory hallucination, little success has been realized, and it remains to be complex in research, understanding, and expressing the knowledge accrued (Kaprinis, 2008.) The auditory processing in schizophrenia seems to be different from that of normal individuals because patients inflicted with this mental illness complain of voices deep inside their heads. The voices are described as coming

According to the World Health Organization, “Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, characterized by profound disruptions in thinking; affecting language, perception, and the sense of self”. This serious brain disorder affects around 21 million people worldwide and causes people to interpret reality differently. People with schizophrenia tend to have strange or altered thinking and don't feel connected with themselves. They often go through psychotic experiences such as seeing hallucinations and delusions, or hearing voices. Mental health America states that “Some early warning signs of schizophrenia are confused and bizarre thoughts, increased sensitivity to light, sound, smells, or touch, fearfulness or suspicion that isn't warranted,

Additional, inferences about the disorder are provided by Whitcomb and Merrell (2013). The authors characterize the symptoms of schizophrenia as delusions that are “typically bizarre and implausible” and pronounced hallucinations such as hearing voices for long periods of time (p. 363). Additional, impairments noted by the authors include “severe disturbances in perception, thought and affect, a severe decline in personal and social functioning, poor personal hygiene, inability to function effectively at school or work, and a severe impairment in social relationships” (Whitcomb and Merrell, 2013 p.363).

Schizophrenia is the most commonly diagnosed psychotic disorder (Steel, 2012), affecting 1 out of every 100 hundred people on average (Taurier & Wykes, 2004). Symptoms of the disorder include positive symptoms, which are auditory and visual hallucinations, as well as disordered patterns of thought such as delusions (Taurier & Wykes, 2004). Auditory hallucinations are the most common positive symptom, and often come in the form of voices (Steel, 2012). Delusions, which are the most common symptom of schizophrenia, involve a false belief that exists despite evidence being available that suggests otherwise (Steel, 2012).

When humans become diagnosed with schizophrenia, it first affects them mentally. Humans affected by schizophrenia see visions that can become terrifying to them. In an article written by Teeple, Caplan, and Stern it states,

The patient is a 50 year old female who presented to the ED with an intentional overdose on 24 pills of Valium 5mg and 6 pills of Rlafen 500mg. Patient reports conflict with family as the contributing factor to her distress. She states, " I'm tired of how my mom treat me, I don't want to live no more, I want to die." Patient reports depressive symptoms as: irritability, anger, isolation, feelings of worthlessness, and sadness. Patient does not appear to exhibiting agitation, aggression, or responding to any internal stimuli.

Personally, Michelle views her biggest challenges to be her auditory hallucinations, labile mood, and lack of sobriety. These challenges are the cause of her mental health, but her environment exacerbates her problems. Her stressful environment with her parents causes her to resort to unsavory friends for support. Michelle has a lot of faith in god and trusts that she will recover if she continues to pray and takes advantage of the services she receives. Being religious has helped her in the past as it has helped her stay sober, and has kept her on top of taking her medications.

have sound hallucinations – I didn’t realize that this was a hallucination until I read about them. I remember when I was younger I thought that I had magical powers because I would hear a song, it would get stuck in my head, and then when I finally turned on the radio – that song would be playing. Granted, I got lucky almost every time, they were also songs that were extremely popular at the time so they were always playing. This progressed throughout childhood – and while I know that I’m not magical, I do sometimes hear a song and start singing it before I realize that there was no music playing.

Auditory hallucination is still regarded as a definitive symptom of psychosis. As schizophrenic sound is sourceless and the patient is not able to pinpoint where the source emanate from, within or without. For Foucault schizophrenic voices function in an impossible space, signifying the way in which the subject’s spatiotemporal world is restructured in deep mental illness (Erb 55). Foucault observed “[Schizophrenics] hear voices in mythical space . . . in which, axes of reference are fluid and mobile: they hear next to them, around them, within them, the voices of persecutors, which at the same time, they situate beyond the walls, beyond the city, beyond all frontiers” (qtd in Erb 55). We can apply this observation to study Norman’s case

Persistent hallucinations cause extreme detriment to those suffering with schizophrenia. Hallucinations disrupt the ability of a patient’s ability to function socially and professionally due to constant disruption and distraction of the patient’s focus. Unfortunately, 25% of those suffering from hallucinations, drug treatment remains virtually useless throughout their life (Thomas, 2011). Patients with schizophrenia that suffer from auditory hallucinations are often found to have reduced gray matter in the superior area of their temporal gyrus (Boska, 2009). The temporal lobe being the area responsible for processing sensory input. Auditory hallucinations often are characterized by voices within the patient’s head. These voices are known to convince the patient that they are being watched or that they are being told to do something. For patients experiencing persistent negative voices, it is important to reinforce the self-esteem of the patient and reduce the power of those voices.

Some individuals are able to live a somewhat normal life, others may yo-yo between functioning well and bouts of functioning difficulties and yet others are consumed by the disease to the point of homelessness, isolation and debilitating symptoms. Hallucinations are one of the most salient positive symptoms in schizophrenia, particularly auditory hallucinations (i.e., “hearing voices”) that affects more than 70% of the patients (Hugdahl, Loberg, & Jorgensen, 2008). When an individual is experiencing hallucinations they may scare people away due to their actions therefore people may be reluctant to help them out of

After undergoing a hallucination, the experience can change the rest of a person’s life. Many different things including stress, drugs, obsession, lack of sleep, a rough childhood, devotion to God, etc. can cause hallucinations. Throughout history, many people have experienced hallucinations in reality and literature. Hallucinations can affect someone positively or negatively. During the Romantic era, many poets used opium believing that it produced creativity. Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge are results from his opium use and hallucinations. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth undergoes a hallucination that leads to his downfall. In the novel Don Quixote, Don Quixote experiences extreme hallucinations that resulted into insanity. The Spanish artist, Salvador Dali, experienced many hallucinations throughout his life that caused his artwork to be very unique and different. During the Medieval and Renaissance time periods, many people became extremely devoted to their faith. Some claimed that they had experienced a heavenly figure come down and look at them. After their mystic experiences, they became different people in a beneficial way. Experiencing hallucinations can cause enhanced creativity, paranoia, insanity, or a more devout faith.