Auditory hallucination

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
paracusia
Classification and external resources
ICD-10R44.0
ICD-9780.1

An auditory hallucination is a type of hallucination in which a person thinks they hear sounds, but the sounds are not actually there. In medical terms, it is called a paracusia. A common form involves hearing one or more voices talking. This can be a sign of some psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia or mania. It is very important sign when deciding that a patient has one of these conditions.[1]

People may hear voices without suffering from any specific mental illness.[2] The causes are still being researched.[3] The main cause of auditory hallucinations in psychotic patients is schizophrenia.[4] The underlying problems in these cases may be genetic.[5][6][7]

There are three main ways in which the hallucination may form: a person hearing a voice speak thoughts, a person hearing one or more voices arguing, or a person hearing a voice narrating their own actions.[8] There can be other types of auditory hallucinations besides these three. These include hearing music playing inside the mind, usually songs that the person is familiar with. This is usually caused by damage to the brain,[9] hearing loss or epileptic activity.[10]

The main method of treating auditory hallucinations is antipsychotic medications that affect the body's dopamine metabolism. If the hallucinations are being caused by a mood disorder, then other medications (such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers) are often used together with the antipsychotics. These treatments may stop the hallucinations, but they are not a cure as they do not fix the cause of the problem.[11] Some psychological therapies have been shown to help lower the intensity of the hallucinations and how often they occur.[12][13]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. Yuhas, Daisy. "Throughout History, Defining Schizophrenia Has Remained A challenge". Scientific American Mind (March 2013). Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  2. Thompson, Andrea (September 15, 2006). "Hearing Voices: Some People Like It". LiveScience.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  3. Stip, Emmanuel (2009). "Psychotic Symptoms as a Continuum Between Normality and Pathology". The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 54 (3): 140–151. doi:10.1177/070674370905400302. PMID 19321018. S2CID 18874916.
  4. Silbersweig, D.A.; Stern, E; Frith, C; Cahill, C; Holmes, A; Grootoonk, S; Seaward, J; McKenna, P; Chua, SE (1995). "A functional neuroanatomy of hallucinations in schizophrenia". Nature. 378 (6553): 176–179. doi:10.1038/378176a0. PMID 7477318. S2CID 4340029.
  5. Boksa, Patricia (2009). "On the neurobiology of hallucinations". J Psychiatry Neuroscience. 34 (4): 260–262. PMC 2702442. PMID 19568476.
  6. Spencer, Kevin M (2009). "Left auditory cortex gamma synchronization and auditory hallucination symptoms in schizophrenia". BMC Neuroscience. 10 (85): 1–13. doi:10.1186/1471-2202-10-85. PMC 2719648. PMID 19619324.
  7. Hugdahl, Kenneth (2008). "Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: the role of cognitive, brain structural and genetic disturbances in the left temporal lobe". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 1: 1–10. doi:10.3389/neuro.09.006.2007. PMC 2525988. PMID 18958220.
  8. Semple, David. "Oxford hand book of psychiatry" Oxford University Press, 2005
  9. "Rare Hallucinations Make Music In The Mind". ScienceDaily.com. August 9, 2000. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  10. Engmann, Birk; Reuter, Mike: Spontaneous perception of melodies – hallucination or epilepsy? Nervenheilkunde 2009 Apr 28: 217-221. ISSN 0722-1541
  11. Barker,P. (2009) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing- The craft of caring (2nd ed.) England: Hodder Arnold.
  12. Penn, David L.; Meyer, PS; Evans, E; Wirth, RJ; Cai, K; Burchinal, M (2008). "Professional A randomized controlled trial of group cognitive-behavioral therapy vs. enhanced supportive therapy for auditory hallucinations". Schizophrenia Research. 109 (1–3): 52–59. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2008.12.009. PMID 19176275. S2CID 16144725.
  13. Shergill, Sukhwinder S.; Murray, RM; McGuire, PK (1998). "Auditory hallucinations: a review of psychological treatments". Schizophrenia Research. 32 (3): 137–150. doi:10.1016/S0920-9964(98)00052-8. PMID 9720119. S2CID 44717839.

More reading[change | change source]