What Are the Treatments for Hearing Voices?

The treatment for hearing voices depends upon the basis of this type of auditory delusion. Hearing voices is found in 70 percent of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and about 15 percent of patients diagnosed with other mood disorders, like depression. Treatment is generally part of overall care for the mental health issue at hand.

Initial Treatment

• You will likely have to be admitted to a clinic or in-patient facility for treatment when symptoms of mental illness as extreme as hearing voices first present. This is generally where an official diagnosis is rendered and medication regimens are begun.

Primary Treatments

• Anti-psychotic medications are prescribed to treat the core mental illness; the auditory hallucinations are a symptom of the illness being treated. Common medications include Haldol, Risperadal, Zyprexa, and Clozaril.

Secondary Treatments

• In addition to medication, therapy is the next line of defense in controlling the process of hearing voices. Individual therapy, as well as group exercises, will help you gain some understanding of what is occurring as your illness progresses and learn to have control over this particular symptom.

Warning

• People who struggle with mental illnesses as challenging as depression, mania or schizophrenia, which is where auditory hallucinations are most common, can be extremely fragile. Relapses among this group of patients are very common; therefore, it is important to limit stress and major life changes wherever possible.

Time Frame

• Finding the right treatment for auditory hallucinations is a process of trial and error. You may sometimes try several different medications before finding the one that works for you, a process that can range from days to months before you notice results.