Everyone continuously experiences ‘auditory hallucinations’. It’s called “thinking”. Since humans are extensively social and verbal, it is of benefit to the individual to be able to model other people predictively, and to ‘rehearse’ one’s responses. These models live in your head. Normally, the illusion of a unitary “I” prevents these hallucinations from being obtrusive; interfering in smooth social functioning. It takes very little; a genetic quirk, a little shock, some drugs or just careful listening to hear these voices as discreet phenomena, separate from you. Also, sensory systems are primed to pick out relevant patterns in the noisy environment. It’s easy to hear voices in the babbling brook, but they’re not always talking about YOU.
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