Hallucinations

If you're like most folks, you probably think hallucinations have to do with seeing things that
aren't really there. But there's a lot more to it than that. It could mean you touch or even smell
something that doesn't exist.
There are many different causes. It could be a mental illness called schizophrenia or a
nervous system problem like Parkinson's disease.
If you or a loved one has a hallucination, you need to see a doctor. You can get treatments that
help control them, but a lot depends on what's behind the trouble.
How You Might Hallucinate

Hear voices. Your doctor may call this an "auditory hallucination." You may sense that the
sounds are coming from inside or outside your mind. You might hear the voices talking to
each other or feel like they're telling you to do something.
See things. This is also known as a "visual hallucination." For example, you might see insects
crawling on your hand or on the face of someone you know.
Sometimes they look like flashes of light. A rare type of seizure called "occipital" may cause
you to see brightly colored spots or shapes.
Smell things. The technical name for this is "olfactory hallucination." You may think the odor
is coming from something around you, or that it's coming from your own body.
Taste things. These are called "gustatory hallucinations." You may feel that something you eat
or drink has an odd taste.
Feel things. Doctors call this a "tactile hallucination." It might seem to you that you're being
tickled even when no one else is around, or you may have a sense that insects are crawling on
or under your skin. You might feel a blast of hot air on your face that isn't real.
What Causes Hallucinations?

Schizophrenia. More than 70% of people with this illness get visual hallucinations, and 60%90% hear voices. But some may also smell and taste things that aren't there.
Parkinson's disease. Up to half of people who have this condition sometimes see things that
aren't there.

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia . They cause changes in the brain that can
bring on hallucinations. It may be more likely to happen when your disease is more
advanced.

Auditory hallucination
A paracusia, or auditory hallucination,[1] is a form of hallucination that involves perceiving sounds
without auditory stimulus. Auditory hallucinations need to be distinguished from endaural phenomena in
which sounds are heard without any external acoustic stimulation but arise from disorders of the frontal
lobe, temporal lobe, language processing system, ear or auditory system.
A common form of auditory hallucination involves hearing one or more talking voices. This may be
associated with psychoticdisorders, and holds special significance in diagnosing these conditions.
[2]

However, individuals without any psychiatric diseasewhatsoever may hear voices.[3]

There are three main categories into which the hearing of talking voices often fall: a person hearing a voice
speak one's thoughts, a person hearing one or more voices arguing, or a person hearing a voice narrating
his/her own actions.[4] These three categories do not account for all types of auditory hallucinations.
Other types of auditory hallucination include exploding head syndrome and musical ear syndrome. In the
latter, people will hear music playing in their mind, usually songs they are familiar with. This can be
caused by: lesions on the brain stem (often resulting from a stroke); also, sleep disorders such
as narcolepsy, tumors, encephalitis, or abscesses.[5] This should be distinguished from the commonly
experienced phenomenon of getting a song stuck in one's head. Reports have also mentioned that it is also
possible to get musical hallucinations from listening to music for long periods of time. [6] Other reasons
include hearing loss and epileptic activity.[7]

Famous examples[edit]
Robert Schumann, a famous music composer, spent the end of his life experiencing auditory
hallucinations. Schumanns diaries state that he suffered perpetually from imagining that he had the
note A5 sounding in his ears. The musical hallucinations became increasingly complex. One night he
claimed to have been visited by the ghost of Schubert and wrote down the music that he was hearing.
Thereafter, he began making claims that he could hear an angelic choir singing to him. As his condition
worsened, the angelic voices developed into demonic ones.[8]

Treatments[edit]
There were no effective treatments for hallucinations at this time. Conventional thought was that clean
food, water, and air would allow the body to heal itself (Sanatorium). Beginning in the 16th century Insane
Asylums were first introduced in order to remove the mad dogs from the streets and left them chained to
walls and living in their own filth.[18] These asylums acted as prisons until the late 18th century. This is
when doctors began the attempt to treat patients. Often attending doctors would douse patients in cold
water, starve them, or spin patients on a wheel. Soon, this gave way to brain specific treatments with the
most famous examples including Lobotomies, shock therapy and branding the skull with hot iron.[18]