Is hearing music equal to hearing voices?

I'm asking this because the first time I saw my pdoc I told her I am
constantly hearing music that it isn't there. Yesterday on my second
appointment, she asked me how were the voices going with the med I'm
taking.

I would think they are basically the same. Just different manifestations of auditory hallucinations, which is what voices are. I'm no expert, I get both and they don't feel all that different to experience, for me, anyway.

Then I DO hear voices?? Oh my... I thought maybe it was a mistake...
The thing is I've been on denial since it was suggested to me...
I've been trying to find another reason for the music I keep constantly
hearing... It's sounds like a radio which is far away and I can't quite listen
to it completely but it is there and it wont stop sounding... until now
that I'm taking some meds for it...

No, you have auditory hallucinations. They are music to you. Others have voices. But I think they are basically the same, in that both are auditory hallucinations.

Small disctinction, but I just wanted to be clear. And like I said, I'm no expert, I just hear both types.

Ok, I get it... I just used the wrong words to say it...
Can you tell me how is your music hearing?

No worries, I just thought I hadn't explained clearly.

I don't think I understand what you mean Sorry

I mean does the sound is loud, or like far away. Is it always the same song, does it change? Can you distinguish which IRL song it is? Do you hear it inside your head or outside?

Music has been loud and far away sounding for me. Its not always the same song. Usually I know which song it is. I hear it outside of my head.

I've had hallucinations with all five of my senses. Auditory is my most common, followed closely by visual. I've had the experience of sounds that were really far away sounding before. Like, if you pick up a radio station that is 100 miles away or more, with a small stereo, so no matter how loud you turn it up it still sounds distant and faint, though that was with morse code last year.

I've also heard music that I hadn't heard before or since, but its only happened once recently. But used to be alot more often when I was around 11.

This is so interesting. Would you mind telling me more about your
hallucinations (the non-auditory ones)?

I don't mind. The listeds will most likely be the more recent or memorable ones I've had, it won't be an exhaustive list, to be sure. I shall start that later tonight or possibly tomorrow, my hands aren't up to typing much right now, sorry about that.

I too have auditory hallucinations and have had visual hallucinations before. MY auditory hallucinations are usually music based or voices. The voices are two, male voices commenting like a peanut gallery throughout the day. On occasion they are critical of me or others. Sometimes they are suggestive. Sometimes they are downright helpful. I cannot explain in any further detail. I am 23 and without the voices I am not sure I would know who I am. Good luck and take care.

Hi lost, one question: are the voices you hear completely independent of
yourself? I mean, can you shut them up or they talk by their own?
I always hear myself talking inside my head but I think this is not an auditory
hallucination, right? Sometimes I am helpful in my talking, sometimes I
criticize myself or others, something like your voices, but if I want I can shut
myself up. I hope you understand me... it's so difficult to describe this. You
too take care.

cat eyes,

My voices are completely independent. I cannot shut them up. They are of their own entity. It is not my inner self. When I was young, I thought it was my conscious arguing with itself. Boy, was I wrong.

Yeah, I can't shut mine up, either. Mine also comment on what I'm doing-how I could do it better, how dumb I just sounded when speaking, how I don't do things right and they could do so much better, arguing at me about arbitrary things I think about, or about what others are doing. Sometimes they tell me what people are thinking or are 'really like', I /really/ try not to believe them when they do this. They talk crap alot, so I don't trust them to tell the truth, but sometimes, after hearing about it so much, its kinda hard not to believe or at least be very confused about what is true.

Ok, will type up some non auditories when my husband goes to work.

edit: Or not =/ Joints feel like crap, so typing will have to wait ._.

I wish I am not wrong

I'm so sorry for your joints... hope you feel better soon!

Thanks, but I have no quick fix, sadly. I've started the process for me to get a referral to a different rheumatologist, but even after I see him (which won't be for two months at the very least), the meds will take up to 4-6 weeks after I start them for full effect.

Some non auditories:
Once I was sitting in the living room watching tv, by myself. I had a lamp on, and was just sitting in the chair watching tv. I don't remember the show, but I had my legs curled to the side (this was at least a year ago, I couldn't dream of sitting like that now), I went to put my feet down and around my chair, where the rug and linoleum had been maybe 15-20 minutes before, there was a huge area of crawling bugs. Small black beetles. What didn't make sense to me about this was the fact that I'm not afraid of bugs in general. And it wasn't even a 'creepy-crawly' icky type like spiders or maggots or anything. Just beetles. I didn't put my feet down, I didn't want to step on them with bare feet--it would have felt gross.

Another time, I was sitting in the living room watching tv again and I got up to go outside and have a cig. The walls around the door (its next to a corner, so two walls) were blood. Glistening, oozing. I couldn't tell if it was coming from like the seam of the wall meeting the ceiling, or coming out of the wall all over, or if the walls were /made/ of blood. On the one wall, there was a Large blood clot clinging to the wall. It was moving down very slowly, sporadically. It was nasty.

There are lots of others, but I don't want to overdo the typing thing.

Before I was medicated i would get tactile hallucinations. I could feel people pulling at me, stabbing me. sometimes it would be so hard i couldn't move or i'd have to turn my head where they wanted me to. they did all that because they wanted my body. now i'm medicated i don't have that anymore.

So sorry about your pain, I wish it could be better in less time, but if you have to wait I wish you not so severe pains in the meantime.

The hallucinations you mention to me seem really scary, I didn't know they were that way, I hope you don't have them anymore... are you on meds for that? (I'm sorry I keep asking you questions knowing you are in pain, if you don't want to answer anymore that's ok)

I'm so glad for you that you don't have those hallucinations anymore. It must be very hard to live with those.

I occasionally have tactile ones too. And olfactory seldomly, as well.

Thanks Not to be difficult or negative, but its actually getting worse and I would guess it will continue to do so until the meds kick in. The only exception is if my GP will give me a prednisone 'burst' to quickly combat inflammation. I don't have the appointment yet, hopefully I can call Monday and get in later this week.

Yeah, they are scary. Its not like some scenario you see on tv or anything. It isn't flat, 2D, fake looking--plus part of it is this "A hallucination is a "sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ"." So, its real--to me, at least. For the time it lasts even though there is no actual, identifiable cause. It feels real, its feels exactly like the rest of my reality. It can become confusing, for me, at least. -shrug-

Now I have a clearer image of what hallucinations mean. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me . At least it seams you can tell that a hallucination isn't real for the weirdness of it, but I can understand why it makes you feel confused.

I hope you can make your appt. soon to receive that shot you need.

Thank you

the med cause more problems. please understand don't. the question asked about music. the music is not voices but . the problem is taking the meds. it causes more harder problems.physiacal.if some one like me can overcome the voices and seing persons and thing since i was realy young, even now i can make some peace.

cat_eyes: I am constantly hearing music that it isn't there.

In case you missed it, there was a discussion related to hearing music in this discussion cat_eyes. Perhaps there's something there that will be helpful to you as well: Hearing Music

reddragon: the med cause more problems. please understand don't. the problem is taking the meds. it causes more harder problems.

Medication certainly can make things worse for some people. All medications come with side effects and even a cocktail of medications may not address all the positive and negative symptoms. People need to know the benefits and risks of medication so they can make their own best choices. Nonetheless, medication is a tool that some people identify as very helpful to them and they would certainly know what works best for them better than anyone else.

I'm opposed to forced medication but I'm also opposed to forced non-medication -- people need to have the option of discovering what works best for them and this is always going to be a highly individual matter. A safe and stable home; supportive (and tolerant!) relationships; good food; adequate rest; a sense of purpose; hope; insight; various forms of therapy (nutritional, art, music, talk); physical activity; spiritual practices -- all of these are tools that can be used alone or combined with other tools to create an individual treatment program. The important thing is to know that there are options so even if one approach or combination thereof doesn't work, you can always try another.

For some time, meds were causing me more problems than solving them. But I think that sometimes they work good and help me with my issues. But my issues aren't about schizo as I have learned from this thread. I hear music but don't have all the other kinds of hallucinations. I must have something else, and I will have to keep looking. My pdoc thinks I am bipolar.