About hearing voices

Children and adults can hear voices in their ears, or inside their heads. The voices may be nice or unkind, they may be there all the time or only in certain situations. People might hear their own voice, or the voices of people they know, or don't know. The voices might talk to the person hearing them, to each other or to someone else.

Hearing voices is not necessarily a sign of mental illness. It can be related to stress or traumatic events, such as bereavement or family breakdown. Some people who hear voices say the voices can be positive and helpful in their lives.

Children may hear voices in the way they have imaginary friends – as a kind of companion who does things with them or comments on what they are doing. Many people who hear voices find the voices go away on their own, or they can live with the voices and do not need mental health support to cope.

If the voices are unkind, argumentative, angry or tell the person to do what they don’t want to, including dangerous or violent things , they can be a sign the person needs support or help. They can be related to anxiety and depression, or be a sign that the person is developing psychosis or schizophrenia