Beyond the Sensory: Findings from an In-Depth Analysis of the Phenomenology of “Auditory Hallucinations” in Schizophrenia

Objective:

Research concerning the subjective sensory qualities of auditory hallucinations (AH) in people diagnosed with schizophrenia is scarce. Our goal was to investigate the “auditoriness” of AH and their overlap with symptoms grounded in alterations of thought rather than perception.

Method:

We undertook a detailed analysis of phenomenological interviews with 80 schizophrenia-spectrum voice-hearers.

Results:

We coded the dominant voice patterns of our subjects and found that only a minority (17.5%) reported a dominant pattern of AH which were experienced as literally auditory. Of dominant AH patterns, 11.3% were instead described as only quasi- or partially auditory, 28.8% as involving a combination of distinctly auditory and thought-like voices, and 15% as unambiguously thought-like. In addition, 5% reported exclusively simple, short-duration AH (e.g. hearing a single word), 12.5% the misperception of actual speech or sounds, and 10% predominantly multisensory voices. We also found substantial overlap between voices and symptoms traditionally considered abnormalities of thought rather than sensation.

Conclusion:

We believe these findings challenge common assumptions about AH in people diagnosed with schizophrenia, draw attention to potentially important but under-recognized characteristics of voices, and suggest a need for greater recognition of the heterogeneity of voices and the potential clinical as well as theoretical risks of conceptual over-simplification.