People able to make out conversation across a noisy bar or untangle a garbled sentence are more likely to hear hallucinatory voices. Photo / AAP file
People who hear hallucinatory voices are more likely to be able to make out conversation across a noisy bar or untangle a garbled sentence, according to scientists at University College London and Durham University.
Experiments found that those with a history of hearing imaginary voices had a three in four
chance of discerning a meaningful sentence in computer-distorted sounds, compared to less than half a chance among those without a history.
MRI scans confirmed that the region of the brain responsible for monitoring and attention performs better in "voice-hearers".
Up to 15 per cent of the population hear voices when no one is speaking, although only a fraction of these suffer to a clinically problematic extent, such as diagnoses of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
The team believes its discovery of an association between auditory verbal hallucinations and better hearing will lead to treatment for mental health problems.
