Latest paper by Hearing the Voice - how voice-hearers can detect speech in unusual sounds

Hearing the Voice collaborated with Sophie Scott’s Speech Communication lab at UCL on a study investigating distinct processing of ambiguous speech in people with non-clinical auditory verbal hallucinations.

The study involved a group of people who regularly hear voices but do not find them distressing. The results showed that voice-hearers were quicker than control participants (with no experience of voice-hearing) at detecting hidden sentences in some ambiguous sounds known as sine-wave speech. Usually sine-wave speech requires training to be understood, but the study demonstrated that 75% of the voice-hearers could detect the hidden speech, even before being told to listen out for it. Voice hearers also appeared to recruit different brain areas, specifically when they listened to the sounds containing hidden speech.

To read the full paper please visit the link below

https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/doi/10.1093/brain/awx206/4085330/Distinct-processing-of-ambiguous-speech-in-people

An invitation to voice-hearers, researchers and clinicians

I am embarking on a new body of work investigating auditory hallucinations. This stems from an increasing awareness of the different types of voices I experience; inner speech, helpful inner voices, plus the destructive and commanding kind that challenge me on a daily basis.

Through engagement with other voice hearers, academics, researchers, psychologists and clinicians, and by working with Mental Health organisations including Launchpad and MOSS, I seek to investigate the experience of hearing voices (in the broadest sense). My research will take a number of formats including individual interviews, group discussions and creative writing workshops. 

I have a number of confirmed outputs, including a reading group, an evening of spoken word performances and an exhibition. I will conceive, create and curate a high- quality immersive audio-visual panoramic installation that represents the typical, atypical, constructive & destructive experience of hearing voices. It is hoped that this will raise awareness, encourage dialogue & promote a holistic understanding of the phenomenon. After the exhibition I aim to produce a publication which will extend the body of work and be a legacy for the project. More information about these will be shared in due course.  

If you have any experience of voice hearing (directly or indirectly), would like to be involved,  or request further information, please contact me by email.