Auditory hallucinations: Causes, types, and more – Medical News Today

Auditory hallucinations involve hearing sounds that have no external source. In other words, individuals who experience auditory hallucinations hear a sound with no observable cause.

While this symptom occurs fairly often in people with schizophrenia, it can also occur in a range of other psychiatric conditions, such as depression. It may also stem from nonpsychiatric conditions, such as seizures.

Treatment entails addressing the underlying cause. For instance, if the cause of auditory hallucinations is schizophrenia, doctors usually treat it with second-generation antipsychotics.

Keep reading to learn more about the types, causes, and treatment of auditory hallucinations.

Another term for auditory hallucinations is paracusis. A person with this symptom hears words that no one has spoken or sounds that do not come from a stimulus. In other words, their mind creates sounds.

According to a 2022 research article, the prevalence of paracusis ranges from 5–28% in the general population, 9% in children, and 5–16% in adolescents.

There are two types of auditory hallucinations — psychiatric and nonpsychiatric — reports the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research.

Psychiatric

Psychiatric auditory hallucinations can involve:

Nonpsychiatric

Nonpsychiatric auditory hallucinations can include:

These can be unformed sounds, which sound distorted, or formed, which sound clear.

Evidence indicates that auditory hallucinations may happen in the following conditions:

Schizophrenia

Auditory hallucinations have strong links to schizophrenia and related psychotic conditions, and 75% of people with these conditions experience them. The particular kind of auditory hallucinations they have is mostly verbal, meaning they involve voices.

Other psychiatric conditions

Psychiatric conditions other than schizophrenia that cause auditory hallucinations include:

• Depression: A persistent feeling of severe despair or sadness.
• Bipolar disorder: A condition of extreme mood swings or emotional highs and lows
• Personality disorders: These disorders involve a way of behaving or thinking that differs from cultural expectations or that causes problems in functioning. A schizotypal personality disorder is one of these that may involve illusions or unusual perceptions, which can also include auditory illusions.
• Parasomnias: Sleep disorders that involve undesirable events, such as sleepwalking or talking during sleep.

Neurological conditions

There are neurological conditions that may be responsible for auditory hallucinations, …….

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/auditory-hallucinations