A 9-year-old girl presenting with hearing voices

Abstract

A 9-year-old girl presented with a 1 year history of hearing voices. She described the voices as projecting at her, shifting from loud to soft with an echoing quality, with a gradual onset and offset. The events occurred after hearing someone talk to her and did not have any other triggers. She felt confused and afraid toward the end of these events. Frequency of the episodes steadily increased to 3 to 4 times per week, lasting 3 to 5 minutes in duration. There was no warning sign and no change in behaviour afterwards. She was otherwise healthy, with no other pertinent medical, developmental or learning concerns. Physical examination revealed an alert and interactive child with a normal neurological exam. She was subsequently sent for further investigations.