The National Institute of Mental Health says that hearing voices or auditory hallucinations--hearing something that no one else can--is common for people with schizophrenia. In "Scientific American Mind," Bettina Thraenhardt, a psychologist and science journalist in Bonn, Germany, writes that hearing voices, though often associated with psychosis, may result from a number of other conditions and occur in those with no mental illness. Some researchers, such as Andrew Moskowitz, a psychologist with the University of Aberdeen, and Dirk Corstens, a psychiatrist working in The Netherlands, argue that auditory hallucinations should not be considered a psychotic symptom.
Prevalence
Psychologist Thraenhardt writes that about 70 percent of individuals with schizophrenia report experiencing hearing voices that interrupt thought. About 15 percent of individuals with no mental health problems report similar experiences. Yet, other studies point to possibilities that this phenomenon is much more prevalent. Thomas B. Posey and Mary E. Losch, both psychologists working at Murray State University of Kentucky, surveyed 375 college students regarding experiences of hearing voices. They found that 70 percent of the students acknowledged hearing voices at least once. Experiences ranged from students believing they heard the voice of a deceased relative, a divine being, their own thoughts or a name being called. According to Thraenhardt, many famous people reported hearing voices, including Socrates, Joan of Arc, Andy Warhol, Winston Churchill and Mahatma Ghandi.
Historical Perspective
Predominant views regarding the causes of auditory hallucinations have differed throughout history. According to researchers Moskowitz and Corstens, hearing voices was attributed to a religious or spiritual experience for much of recorded history. People said they heard the voice of the gods, demons or angels. Others believe that hearing voices may be attributed to a psychic experience--communication from ghosts or telepathy. Moskowitz and Corstens write that during the 19th century, a medical perspective began to dominate views of auditory hallucinations. The experience of hearing voices became considered pathological or abnormal; attributable to something wrong with the individual experiencing them. These views persist today.
Experience of Hearing Voices
A study conducted by social worker Lis-Bodil Karlsson, who at the time of the study conducted research at Stockholm University, asked a focus group of 22 individuals to describe how they accounted for and understood his and her voice hearing experiences. The individuals considered the voice come from inside their head, outside their body, or some combination of the two. All the individuals in the focus group considered the voices to be real. However, the voices sometimes possessed qualities that placed them outside of everyday experiences and realities.
Karlsson writes that hearing voices can be overwhelming for many, adding, "Voices are strong and powerful experiences that convey memories from the past or difficulties that the voice hearer would prefer to forget, but in fact has to confront." Overall, the individuals in Karlsson's focus group found difficulty dealing with the voices, but worked to actively explore the experience of hearing them.
Causes
Psychologist Thraenhardt describes what occurs in the brain causing auditory hallucinations. Of schizophrenics, the Broca's area, lying in the temporal lobe, experiences the greatest increase in activity during hearing voices. That area is responsible for comprehending speech, but not producing it. Activity in the primary auditory cortex, responsible for processing sounds from the outside world, explains why individuals respond to the voices similarly as hearing actual speech. In other situations, individuals hear voices because of too little stimuli entering the brain from the outside world. Individuals who have been isolated for long periods of time are more likely to report experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Stopping the Voices
The MayoClinic.com says that antipsychotics such as Abilify, Zyprexa and Seroquel are the most common types of medication prescribed to treat schizophrenia. Psychologist Thraenhardt writes that antipsychotics work for some individuals to stop auditory hallucinations, but not all.
According to Thraenhardt, transcranial magnetic stimulation, a technique that applies a magnetic field to specific parts of the brain and reduces activity, has shown some effectiveness in decreasing hearing voices for some schizophrenic patients.
References
- "International Journal of Social Welfare"; 'More Real Than Reality': A Study of Voice Hearing; Lis-Bodil Karlsson; October 2008
- "Journal of Psychological Trauma"; Auditory Hallucinations: Psychotic Symptom or Dissociative Experience?; Andrew Moskowitz, Ph.D. and Dirk Corstens, M.D.; 2007
- MayoClinic.com: Schizophrenia
- National Institute of Mental Health: Schizophrenia
- "Scientific American Mind"; Hearing Voices; Bettina Thraenhardt, Ph.D.; December-January 2006-2007
