A
paracusia, or
auditory hallucination, is a form of
hallucination that involves perceiving sounds without auditory
stimulus. Auditory hallucinations need to be distinguished from
endaural phenomena in which sounds are heard without any external acoustic stimulation but arise from disorders of the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, language processing system,
ear or
auditory system. A common form of auditory hallucination involves hearing one or more talking voices. This may be associated with
psychotic disorders such as
schizophrenia or
mania, and holds special significance in diagnosing these conditions. However, individuals may hear voices without suffering from diagnosable
mental illness.