The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

hearing voices

Thu, 04/03/2008 - 13:47

Hi everyone. 

Hope you're having a good day.  Hope I don't sound like too much of a "newbie" but that's exactly what I am.

OK, here's my story.

About 4 weeks ago my 16 year old son began complaining about being unable to sleep.  We gave him advice such as lay off the caffine .  Then, on 3/25 he had a seizure at school.  (he has since had one almost every day and two on one day.) During his seizures he has some "twitching" of his arms and legs but has always been able to get to a safe place.  He is able to answer questions with a yes or no or a nod of the head so he never completely looses control. He remains conscious through the seizures and has at least some memory of them though he is very weak afterwards. 

We've taken him to the ER (put him on keppra) and have had an MRI and EEG done.  Neither showed anything.  We're taking him to a neurologist tomorrow and having another EEG done on his orders today.

Maybe the scariest part for us has been the voices.  After he had the first seizure he told us that the reason he hadn't been able to sleep was that he'd heard voices.  Sometimes the voices are gibberish but other time they tell him things (in his own voice) like "your friends dont' really like you" or that the voices are going to hurt his friends of family.  They never tell him to do things and he knows the voices aren't real.

I've read about aura's and know some folks hear voices with seizures, but haven't been able to find much to tell me what the voices actually usually say.  Is what my son is hearing common? 

His behavior hasn't changed except he has become even more attached to his friends/family.  He's a great kid and everybody loves being around him, but this is scary stuff for all of us. 

Any "words of wisdom" from the voices of experience would be much appreciated. 

Comments

Re: hearing voices

Submitted by banffgirl on Thu, 2008-04-17 - 02:13

HI AND WELCOME TO E.COM. JUST IN CASE YOU WERENT AWARE OF IT. THERE IS A TEEN GROUP THAT YOUR DAUGHTER CAN ASK OTHER TEENS QUESTIONS ON THEIR FORUM. ALSO CAN CHAT WITH TEENS. ITS A GOOD THING FOR TEENS TO TALK TOGETHER WITH EACH OTHER SO THEY KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE. I DIDNT HAVE ANYONE AT THAT AGE. BUT THEN WE DIDNT HAVE THIS SORT OF THING 30 YEARS AGO. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

CAPS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

 GOD BLESS,

BANFFGIRL

LIFE IS FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE.

HI AND WELCOME TO E.COM. JUST IN CASE YOU WERENT AWARE OF IT. THERE IS A TEEN GROUP THAT YOUR DAUGHTER CAN ASK OTHER TEENS QUESTIONS ON THEIR FORUM. ALSO CAN CHAT WITH TEENS. ITS A GOOD THING FOR TEENS TO TALK TOGETHER WITH EACH OTHER SO THEY KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE. I DIDNT HAVE ANYONE AT THAT AGE. BUT THEN WE DIDNT HAVE THIS SORT OF THING 30 YEARS AGO. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

CAPS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

 GOD BLESS,

BANFFGIRL

LIFE IS FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE.

Re: hearing voices

Submitted by Jennifer Cossette on Tue, 2009-12-15 - 19:50

I had a severe head injury 4 years ago.  After a year I had a sezure and was put on meds.  Following that the meds worked but I would still have the aura and smell and having several flush feelings every hour.  That happens about 4 times a year.  Last month I was watching tv and the people on tv were talking but saying nursery rhymns - I played back the show and I knew I was hearing voices... I joked to my husband but... Yesterday I know my meds were blocking sezures (I had been stressed and working too much).  I was at dinner with friends after attending a wake for a good friend that died...  I felt the flush and smelled the aura.  All of a sudden when they were talking it was words to a song.  I thought I was loosing it!  In the last 48 hours it happend 2 more times.  I slept most of the day sleeping.

I found this site on line and I can't tell you how thankful I am - I really thought I was going crazy.  I worry all the time about it getting worse as I age. 

Jen

I had a severe head injury 4 years ago.  After a year I had a sezure and was put on meds.  Following that the meds worked but I would still have the aura and smell and having several flush feelings every hour.  That happens about 4 times a year.  Last month I was watching tv and the people on tv were talking but saying nursery rhymns - I played back the show and I knew I was hearing voices... I joked to my husband but... Yesterday I know my meds were blocking sezures (I had been stressed and working too much).  I was at dinner with friends after attending a wake for a good friend that died...  I felt the flush and smelled the aura.  All of a sudden when they were talking it was words to a song.  I thought I was loosing it!  In the last 48 hours it happend 2 more times.  I slept most of the day sleeping.

I found this site on line and I can't tell you how thankful I am - I really thought I was going crazy.  I worry all the time about it getting worse as I age. 

Jen

Re: hearing voices

Submitted by steve14 on Wed, 2011-05-11 - 08:28

I have a very complex brain malformation - without going into this it causes temporal lobe epilepsy and partial/complex partial seizures.

I have, on occasion, heard voices and initially thought I was going mad as the first and only time it happened prior to my initial diagnosis an extremely evil voice shouted "you F!?!!?! C?!?". 

More recently voices have been more positive - today one has said "It's alright" in the distinctive voice of a famous tv personality over here in England  "Anthony Mcpartlane" of Ant and Dec.

Prior to this I have heard all types of voice shout or whisper "Oi you" "Get up" and "Steve". Sometimes the voices are garbled and I cant determine what they say exactly like "ifmm yaw bloor when e yay"   

I can completely understand the "I pressed the button twice" comment on here - I have also had these type of strange sayings by the voices too, but I cant remember specifics.

What I find worse is that because they say unusual things that never make sense or end abruptly for example "go to blue " or "its always the" respectively, that it scares the bejesus out of you and grabs your attention massively as you realise what's just happened and it's not normal at all.

I have been told that this is a part of my condition by a psychologist and therefore I now ignore them, but having had one today clearly my meds are not clearing them up.

The one thing I would say is that if anyone hears hurtful, harmful or nasty voices telling you to do things this may be more of a psychological issue and to get this checked out by a psychologist just incase this is something else.   

I have a very complex brain malformation - without going into this it causes temporal lobe epilepsy and partial/complex partial seizures.

I have, on occasion, heard voices and initially thought I was going mad as the first and only time it happened prior to my initial diagnosis an extremely evil voice shouted "you F!?!!?! C?!?". 

More recently voices have been more positive - today one has said "It's alright" in the distinctive voice of a famous tv personality over here in England  "Anthony Mcpartlane" of Ant and Dec.

Prior to this I have heard all types of voice shout or whisper "Oi you" "Get up" and "Steve". Sometimes the voices are garbled and I cant determine what they say exactly like "ifmm yaw bloor when e yay"   

I can completely understand the "I pressed the button twice" comment on here - I have also had these type of strange sayings by the voices too, but I cant remember specifics.

What I find worse is that because they say unusual things that never make sense or end abruptly for example "go to blue " or "its always the" respectively, that it scares the bejesus out of you and grabs your attention massively as you realise what's just happened and it's not normal at all.

I have been told that this is a part of my condition by a psychologist and therefore I now ignore them, but having had one today clearly my meds are not clearing them up.

The one thing I would say is that if anyone hears hurtful, harmful or nasty voices telling you to do things this may be more of a psychological issue and to get this checked out by a psychologist just incase this is something else.   

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.