Thanks for writing such an easy-to-unedsratnd article on this topic.

Hi, I have been visiting your site often, renectly, as I am interested because I have been a voice hearer my whole life. However, in the past 12 years the voices have become a big part of my life. I heard them for about eight years, and I told myself they were simply my brain's way of making sense out of the ambient noise in the background coming from household appliances or items, such as fans, air conditioners, dryers, aquarium pumps, and other mechanical equipment that creates a white noise. The problem is the noise really sounds like voices speaking sentences and calling my name, and the more I ignored the voices' throughout my life, the louder and more sensible or word-like they sounded. Now, I cannot go anywhere without hearing voices that are as loud as screaming whispers. I guess what I am trying to say is, I have noticed what seems different about me from other members on the site is that I don't hear voices in my head. I have only heard a few voices that sounded internal rather than external, so I think I know what that is like, too. Because those 3 or 4 times I hear the voices in my head frightened me quite a bit. However, the voices I hear daily are unlike the internal voices. The voices I hear all the time I can block out the sound of them with earplugs or loud music; however, they start back up again when I take out the earplugs or turn off the music. I had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when I was a teenager although the voices were not as loud or incessant as they are now since I can't NOT hear them these days (unless I block them out with earplugs or loud music as I stated). So I fear that auditory hallucinations might have something to do with it. I'm just wondering would this site be useful since I seem to be having a very different experience from some of the other members on the forum. Is there anyone else who has experienced the ongoing external voices phenomenon as I have? I am a professor, and it is sometimes hard for me to teach if I start hearing the whispers during my class. I am not afraid of these voices as they sound like deceased relatives and are kind and helpful for the most part, but I do get very fatigued since this is a non-stop part of my daily life. I can't wear ear plugs all the time! And now I cannot sleep without them, so I just don't know what to do since this phenomenon is not showing any signs of letting up, but it is increasing. I just wondered if any others had advice for combating these kind of external voices. There is one other thing that is important, some people around me can hear them, too, but usually if they are at my house where they are often the loudest; I don't know if that makes them voice hearers, too, but I think it is interesting. Anyway, thanks for letting me discuss this here.