Understanding Auditory Hallucinations: Causes, Symptoms, and Coping Strategies
Hallucinations are sensory experiences that seem real but are created by your mind. These can involve hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that don't actually exist in the external world. Auditory hallucinations, specifically, involve hearing sounds or voices when there is no external source.
People who experience hallucinations do not necessarily suffer from a mental illness. It is quite common for people in the general population to experience passing and infrequent episodes of hallucination, and many people recover completely. It is possible to lead a productive and meaningful life with hallucinations.
What are Auditory Hallucinations?
Hearing voices speaking when there is no-one there is known as an auditory hallucination. Often, these can be as intense and as real as sensory perceptions. Voices can talk about very personal matters, which can be quite frightening.
Causes of Hallucinations
Hallucinations can be caused by many different health conditions that affect the senses. Intense negative emotions such as stress or grief can make people particularly vulnerable to hallucinations, as can conditions such as hearing or vision loss, and drugs or alcohol. It is believed that the mental processes which operate during hallucinations include memories and images which the brain has difficulty controlling.
Common causes of hallucinations include:
- Mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
- Drugs and alcohol
- Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies
- Parkinson's disease
- A change or loss of vision, such as Charles Bonnet syndrome
- Severe depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Side effect from medicines
- After surgery and anaesthesia
Sometimes hallucinations can be temporary.
Hallucinations and Mental Health
Hallucinations occur frequently in psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic disorder and borderline personality disorder, as well as in other disorders such as dementia and Parkinson’s.
Visual Hallucinations
Seeing images when there is nothing in the environment to account for it is a visual hallucination. Simple visual hallucinations may include flashes or geometric shapes.
Coping Strategies
Everyday strategies are very helpful for coping with hallucinations:
- Accept that the person is experiencing voices or visions. These experiences are like real perceptions and can be very puzzling and frightening.
- Encourage the person to describe their experiences. What is it like? Do they hear different voices? What do the voices say?
- Suggest that the person might be able to draw on their own particular strength to help them cope with or overcome the hallucinations.
Seeking Help
For many, however, hallucinated voices or visions can be distressing and worrying. If you are troubled by hallucinations, it is best to seek help from your GP or mental health services, as they will help to work out what is causing the problem. There are different treatment options depending on the cause of hallucinations.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for education and information purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your healthcare professional. Readers should note that over time currency and completeness of the information may change.