Abstract
Voice hearing, a complex perceptual phenomenon, is reportedly common in the general population yet understudied in nursing. Nurses meet voice hearers from diverse cultures; their understandings influence assessment. The aim was to explore voice hearing in everyday life in a non-patient population, revealing insights for assessing voice hearing. Method: Interview data was transcribed, translated into English and analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Outcome measures are thematic descriptions. Results: Voice hearing over time involved past (about year 2000) and recent (2009) time periods. Four main themes were: “Transitioning from not-being-at home when home alone to being at-home”, “Shifting overtime from frequent, repetitive voice hearing to inferquent intermittent voice hearing overtime”, “Changing from being disempowered to being empowered” and “Progressing from absence of significant others to presence of significant others”. Study Limitations: Interviewing a single participant residing in Scandinavia produced in-depth descriptions consistent with the study’s aim. The participant had no known psychiatric diagnosis and had not received mental health care when recruited and interviewed. However, we cannot be certain that her voice hearing was or was not non-pathological which raises issues concerning truth value of the study. Conclusions: The results reflect life world existential themes of lived time, lived space, lived body and lived human relation, and offers a framework for guiding and challenging nurses’ assessments of voice hearing. Voice hearing can be understood as a bereavement-grief response. Further research is needed in western and non-western cultures and non-patient populations.
Highlights
Voice hearing is a complex perceptual phenomenon [1] viewed differently in western and non-western cultures
Some mental health personnel feel that inquiring about voice hearing experiences is taboo [6]
The first theme was “Not-being-at-home when home alone”. This focused on the participant alone in her bedroom, kitchen or bathroom with unceasing voice hearing
Summary
Voice hearing is a complex perceptual phenomenon [1] viewed differently in western and non-western cultures. In non-western cultures it has been interpreted as a relatively normal, positive [3,4] or sacred experience [5]. Some mental health personnel feel that inquiring about voice hearing experiences is taboo [6]. With extensive movement of people throughout the world due to, e.g., famine, natural disasters and conflict, nurses encounter diverse cultures in various settings, including persons who experience voice hearing. Of importance is understanding voice hearing, which may or may not involve pathology, and appropriately assessing what is often considered a hallmark of mental illness. The experience of voice hearing is understudied in nursing. Studying voice hearing in a non-patient population may reveal helpful insights
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