What are auditory hallucinations?
Auditory hallucinations, or hearing voices, is quite a common experience. It is often a symptom of a mental health problem, although not everyone who experiences this is unwell.
Facts About Auditory Hallucinations
Around 1 in 10 people hear voices that others don’t.
Voices can say both positive and negative things.
Auditory hallucinations are not always due to a mental health problem.
It can be difficult to cope and upsetting if you hear voices.
According to MIND someone who experiences auditory hallucinations may feel like the voices are coming from inside their head, that they are from outside and coming through their ears or believe they can hear the thoughts of other people.
The voices may be heard when someone is upset and stressed or as they fall asleep. They can include voices talking to the person or about the person, as well as animal noises or music and background noises such as people talking.
What can be done to stop auditory hallucinations?
For some people, hearing voices is a symptom of mental illness and they may benefit from therapy. If the person is unhappy and doesn’t want to hear the voices, they can seek support from their GP, mental health charities or social services. Talking therapies such as CBT, therapy for trauma and even art therapy may be offered, as well as medication for those experiencing psychosis.
There are several ways in which someone can be helped and if you want to support someone close to you, there are mental health training courses available. If you are looking for mental health training courses Plymouth, specialist training providers such as www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/plymouth can advise.
What causes auditory hallucinations?
Difficult past experiences can lead to someone hearing voices – these include abuse, drugs and alcohol, homelessness and anxiety. The most common mental health conditions associated with them are bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s have also been linked to hearing voices. Sometimes it can be caused by a temporary issue, such as a fever, migraine, brain tumour, infection or confusion, especially in elderly people.
