Have you ever heard your name being called when nobody is around?

[JustBenn]

Hello there

People have been asking me to start a forum.
The topic is about Hearing Things when nobody is around.
I couldnt really help the person as i told him he is not alone
I told him about my expirences but he wanted to hear other peoples expirences.
I dont know if im right about this but i reasured him that he is normal and i allso listed a number of things that i and other people expirence that are most common in human life.

Ringing in ears
Hearing your name called out when nobody is around
Hearing other people calling somone elce
Hearing Telephone/Mobie ringing
Hypnogogic Hallucinations - Hearing voices and Seeing things when waking up and just about to drift of to sleep - is pretty common - I HAVE HAD EXPIRENCES IN THIS MANY TIMES AND CONCIDER MYSELF NORMAL


I dont really know what is normal or what is not. could you tell me if the the list above is considerd normal and common because i dont want to give him any wrong answers? Please could you amswer in detail
if its possible could you put down your expirences on this topic

That would be a massive help
Thank You

[PanchoGoz]

What is similar about all these sounds? They are the most common sounds on earth. For a busy person, they would probably expect to hear you phone going off all day. If you hear a loud noise in the middle of the night like a car alarm, it replays over and over in your mind. In this modern day and age, you will expect those things.
It is more of a question of the imagination dwelling on these sounds. It is normal to hear them, but becoming obsessed is another matter.

[YvonneBelle]

This is actually quite timely. Yes, I have heard my name called out very occasionally but not recently. It's usually quite definate and loud and not drawn out or distant in the way that your mum would call you.

Last night a funny thing happened. My taps often drip suddenly in the bathroom and if I'm sleeping lightly it sometimes disturbs me. Lately I've been waking up at 2am, 4am, 6am or on good nights sleeping right through. But last night at 2am I became conscious, heard the last of the taps dripping, but my body was totally asleep. I even knew that my tongue was hanging out slightly :tongue: and I felt immobile. Then I heard a voice very clearly say "hello" right next to the bed. The voice sounded dry and very much like my sister (so it could have been me) but when I opened my eyes and looked at the clock, I felt sure my voice hadn't spoken and that the hello was audible in the room. It was so clear. A definate hello. It wasn't loud, threatening or scary - just hello from somebody with a dry throat. (Perhaps it was me). But at the time, I was totally convinced it wasn't me. I looked at the clock and went back to sleep but it was so clear and vivid I remembered it as soon as I woke up this morning.

Very strange! :unsure:

[guitarpants]

When falling off to sleep one night I thought I hear someone call my name. It happens.

[JustBenn]

Thanks - this should be good reasurance for the person and others who come across this forum :)

[minnie h]

the other nite when i woz going to sleep i also heard a very clear "hello" it scared me a little bit az i live alone.and it didnt come from outside it woz like sum1 stood rite next to me...creepy.... X x

[JustBenn]

Im on a mission to help others who sees this :) :)


Please can anyone who comes across this forum

Tell us about your expirences with this topic


I will do the same

I just want them to know that they are not alone




Thank You

[Ronny]

HI.......I wake up in the night thinking i have heard the phone ring,I think it is because I have had destressing calls from my daughter,also my hubby is overseas at the moment,and I subconsciously think that something is wrong.I also hear my name being called,I think it is the magpie that sits outback mimicking my name,it drives me nuts:mad:
Rhonda x

[loveletter]

Have for a number of years every so often hear my name being called or someone calling mum when I have asked my sons they have said they have not called me.

A few times have thought I have heard the phone ringing.

I am not worried about this as my mate that does not suffer from anxiety or panic attacks told me she has just the same as me.

Now I have read this on here it has set my mind at rest even more.

I think it is so good to share things even though we may think people might think we are mad or we will feel silly . Keeping things to ourself s makes things worse

[JustBenn]

I am glad i started this forum and i am glad i could help alittle to ease the worries that people may have and i will reasure people as much a i can :)

Yes i allso feel that people shouldnt have things bottled up in there heads.


Everyone has a stage in there life where they thing they are going mad.

I thourght i was insane - but that is pretty common in Anxiety - fears and phobias allso OCD

[Going home]

I don't think we can rule anything out...we are all sensitive people here, that's our nature and because of this we are much more 'tuned in' to things that 'normal' people aren't, we're sort of more receptive really and we know our bodies and our minds very well, much more than a person without mental health problems does, so i guess it figures that our senses are much more alert....if thats the right way to put it, well i know what i mean anyway :)

Anna xxx

[puppyskin]

i know what you mean,sensitive to everything eyes ears nose skin,mental stimuli,pain etc..

[feasible]

i too have heard my name being called when im resting or half asleep..i was even thinking that it may be someones spirit letting me know they are there,,, i still wont rule that out because i dont truely know its not who does? lol.... i am however rea ssured that im not the only one who hears my name being called...might not be an anxiety thing at all just a natural process of disturbances in the mind when we are switching off for sleep or something,,,, thank you for sharing this topic

[RLR]

Auditory illusions are as common as visual illusions and are most often enountered as a result to misperception by the auditory processes in the brain, starting with an area of the brain known as Heschel's Gyrus where all auditory information is received.

Many people come to question their insanity because of the old stigma that hearing voices is a questionable sign of psychosis, more commonly termed insanity by the lay community. You need to understand, however, that this premise has largely been distorted by the non-medical community. We seek to determine this manifestation in certain patients who are exhibiting supportive clinical signs, but more importantly the detection of voices is of a nature specifically where these voices are directing the individual to perform actions contrary to their will, or where these voices are being perceived as ethereal in origin and have selected the listener as especially chosen. Examples like these are evidence of psychosis of the type commonly encountered in persons with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like syndromes.

The encounter described by one of the persons posting a response wherein they hear voices or someone calling them at a point just prior to sleep, is known as a hypnogogic reaction. It is induced because the brain is at a point where conscious awareness and the sleep cycle meet. The person experiencing this crossover will sometimes confuse the prodrome of the sleep cycle with that of the real world and any actions being depicted in the twilight dream state can produce a sudden physical jolt or reaction that would otherwise be prevented by the brain during actual initial sleep phases. Hearing conversation or voices and even responding to them during a hypnogogic experience is very common.

It is also of note that persons under significant stress or anxiety can also cause auditory illusions to be produced via excessive ruminative thoughts that at some point, produce confusion on infrequent occasion in the mind of the individual as to whether the voice is merely internalized or actually originating from the environment. In other words, preoccupation of the mind with rumination can lead to misperception of the environment, in this case sounds, because the brain is mis-interpreting the information at the level of the Heschel's Gyrus.

In any instance, you're fine. Realize that in the case of persons actually suffering from psychosis, they also suffer from a phenomenon called Anosognosia, which results in the perception that nothing is wrong with them and that the experiences are perfectly normal. In other words, if you were experiencing actual psychosis, other relevant factors would not permit you to see it as abnormal and therefore, your inquiry would never have appeared here on the forum.

Best regards,


Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)