Why do People with Schizophrenia Hear Voices? Auditory Hallucinations

Patients with certain mental disorders, especially schizophrenia, often hear voices (auditory hallucinations) in their head. But what could be causing it? Are auditory hallucinations completely out of the blue or is there really something happening in the brain?

Well, it appears to be the latter.

People with schizophrenia often hear voices because they're unable to differentiate between their own internal "sounds" and external voices. This results from a broken corollary discharge that fails to suppress self-generated sounds in the brain, and a faulty efference copy that makes the brain hear these sounds loudly.

Ok, your head is probably spinning from all that information. So let's break it down, alright?

When you're preparing to speak, your brain creates the sound you intend to make right before you make it. However, the brain sends a signal known as corollary discharge that suppresses this internal sound.

But patients who hear voices have a broken corollary discharge and so cannot suppress those internal sounds. Plus, their response to internal sounds is more heightened, so they tend to hear these sounds as actual words spoken by someone else.

Response to internal sounds is referred to as "efference copy."

In patients with auditory hallucinations, the corollary discharge and efference copy are both faulty.

The researchers who conducted the study believe that addressing these neural impairments may be the solution to treating auditory hallucinations.

Summary

So, to answer the question: why do people with schizophrenia hear voices in their head? It's likely that people with schizophrenia hear their own thoughts, but their faulty brain processes make it appear like someone else's voice.

Living with auditory hallucinations can be a pain. If you're a patient or have a loved one suffering from it, you know first-hand how tough it can be.

But we can help.

At Hope Mental Health, we treat schizophrenia and a range of other mental disorders using several approaches, including psychotherapy and medication.

Talk to us today, let's work together to improve your quality of life.

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.