Auditory Hallucinations in Occupational Contexts: Clinical and Organizational Implications
Bulletin of Integrative Psychiatry June 15, 2026 Vlad Teodor Iacob, Călin Scripcaru, Anton Knieling et al.
Auditory hallucinations (AH) are sensory perceptions without an external acoustic stimulus, traditionally linked to psychotic disorders but increasingly recognized across a broader clinical and nonclinical spectrum. This paper examines AH through integrated clinical, psychological, occupational, and forensic perspectives, emphasizing interactions between individual vulnerability factors and organizational influences. It distinguishes hallucinations, illusions, and pseudohallucinations, reviews nonpsychiatric causes such as sleep deprivation and neurological dysfunction, and discusses psychological vulnerabilities including stress, anxiety, trauma, and personality traits alongside organizational contributors like occupational overload and chronic job stress. The authors propose that these factors increase susceptibility to perceptual disturbances and that an integrated understanding of biological, psychological, and environmental determinants may facilitate early recognition and effective intervention.