# Functional hallucinations

**URL:** <https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516>\
**Category:** Lounge\
**Created:** [October 17, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516 "2026-10-17T14:22:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Om\_Sadasiva](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/om_sadasiva/32/179_2.png) [@Om\_Sadasiva](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Om_Sadasiva)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/1 "2026-10-17T14:22:11Z")

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A **functional hallucination** is a rare perceptual disorder where a hallucination is triggered by a real external stimulus in the same sensory modality and happens at the exact same time. [[1](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3361849/), [2](https://www.ovid.com/jnls/aips/fulltext/10.4103/aip.aip_244_25~deciphering-functional-hallucinations-insights-from-three)]

**Key Characteristics**

- **Co-occurrence:** The hallucination appears alongside a real sensory input and stops immediately when the real sound or stimulus stops. For example, a person might hear critical voices only while a rotating fan or running water is making noise. [[1](https://www.ovid.com/jnls/aips/fulltext/10.4103/aip.aip_244_25~deciphering-functional-hallucinations-insights-from-three), [2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3361849/)]
- **Same Modality:** The trigger and the hallucination belong to the same sense (such as hearing a real sound and simultaneously hearing a hallucinated voice). [[1](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3361849/), [2](https://www.ovid.com/jnls/aips/fulltext/10.4103/aip.aip_244_25~deciphering-functional-hallucinations-insights-from-three)]
- **Underlying Mechanism:** Researchers believe the brain misinterprets or abnormally encodes the natural acoustic features of a real environmental sound in the auditory cortex. [[1](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2017/9421973), [2](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.5.923)]
- **Context:** They are most commonly reported in individuals with schizophrenia or other functional psychotic disorders.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Om\_Sadasiva](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/om_sadasiva/32/179_2.png) [@Om\_Sadasiva](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Om_Sadasiva)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/2 "2026-10-17T14:22:56Z")

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I hear talking in all neutral sounds

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**Author:** ![Mars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/mars/32/4869_2.png) [@Mars](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Mars)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/3 "2026-10-17T14:23:40Z")

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I have a voice that I can only hear when my eyes are closed and I’m listening to someone talk on the TV or something. IDK why that one specifically it’s weird.

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**Author:** ![Om\_Sadasiva](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/om_sadasiva/32/179_2.png) [@Om\_Sadasiva](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Om_Sadasiva)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/4 "2026-10-17T14:23:54Z")

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Guitar licks make me hear words.

Running water, washing machine, tapping my fingers etc

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Om\_Sadasiva](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/om_sadasiva/32/179_2.png) [@Om\_Sadasiva](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Om_Sadasiva)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/5 "2026-10-17T14:35:01Z")

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Guitar solos also

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**Author:** ![Speedy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/speedy/32/145_2.png) [@Speedy](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/u/Speedy)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://schizophreniasupport.discourse.group/t/functional-hallucinations/9516/6 "2026-10-17T15:59:42Z")

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I’m the same. Also commercials on TV, I think they are mocking me.