Auditory hallucinations can be caused by the following things

Auditory hallucinations are the most common type of hallucinations, which cause a person to hear sounds such as music, footsteps, conversation, laughter, screams and other sounds - but other people don't hear them. These hallucinations can irritate people around you and trigger an argument.

Hallucinations occur when the brain perceives or processes something that is not actually happening. What causes a person to experience auditory hallucinations?

What causes a person to experience auditory hallucinations?

1. Mental disorders

Many mental disorders can cause a person to be unable to distinguish between reality and imagination, such as hallucinations. People with schizophrenia are prone to auditory hallucinations (commonly known as "crazy").

But sometimes, this can also be caused by other mental disorders, including

• Bipolar disorder
• Borderline personality disorder
• Major depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Schizoaffective disorder

2. You consume alcohol and illegal drugs

Liquor and drugs such as methamphetamine, ecstasy and others, often cause users to see and hear things that are not there. Usually this happens when a person is severely addicted to alcohol or illegal drugs or is in a withdrawal period.

3. Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors

Degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkasin and other types of senile diseases, are prone to make sufferers hallucinate hearing something. To some people, the sounds even sound very real and can be followed by a compelling visual image.

In addition, auditory hallucinations can also be experienced by people who have brain tumors. Especially if the tumor is in the part of the brain associated with the sense of hearing.

4. Hearing loss

People with hearing loss in one or both ears may hear anything from strange sounds to music and voices, nothing really there.

5. Migraine

Often times, if you have a migraine you feel dizzy, hear voices, or see things that are not there. This is vulnerable to experience, especially if you are also depressed

6. Side effects of drugs

If you experience auditory hallucinations, try checking whether you are taking certain drugs or not. If you are new to the drug, ask your doctor whether the dose given is higher or not, because this can trigger voice hallucinations in you.

7. Other causes

Some other things that can cause you to hear something that isn't real include:

• Lack of sleep, for example staying up late for days
• A high fever causes delirium, a condition in which you have a decreased ability to focus so that you become confused, disoriented, and unable to think clearly.
• End-stage disease such as cancer, AIDS, or kidney and liver failure.
• Hearing and visual impairment
• Epilepsy
• Social isolation, especially in the elderly

How do doctors diagnose hallucinations?

Generally, doctors will ask a number of things, including what sound you hear, whether you are consuming something, and other things. After that, you will get several tests based on what your doctor thinks might be the cause.

For example, you may need to see a psychiatrist to check if you have a mental disorder. Or you may need to have an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the electrical signals in your brain to determine if your auditory hallucinations are caused by epilepsy. You will also need to do a complete hearing exam to check for any hearing loss or tinnitus.

How to treat it?

Hallucinations are generally treated with drugs that slow down the work of the brain. However, handling hallucinations must also take into account the factors that cause them to reduce the severity of hallucinations.

If hallucinations occur due to side effects of drugs, your doctor may reduce the dose or change the drug you are taking. In others, treatment is more complex and you may need to try several things to see what works. For example, if you are diagnosed with a disease such as schizophrenia, you may need a combination of drugs, therapy, and other treatments.