Hospital Stress and Psychiatric Effects.

July 26, 2024, I was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. On July 28, while still an in-patient, I experienced two distinct and profound hallucinations. The first occurred around 11:00, as I was receiving a test (exactly which type I don’t recall). An announcement sounded from a rommmate’s TV that Iran had launched nuclear missiles at the US. I wanted to tell the nurse giving me the test to stop. I was amazed she didn’t hear the announcement. A roommate was shouting about it, and still she continued. Air raid sirens were going off, but nobody seemed concerned. Finally I realized it wasn’t real.
The second hallucination, around 5:30 pm, was  that of a strong earthquake. The hospital operator announced “Code 1300,” signaling emergency procedures. Fire doors and HVAC registers slammed shut. I called home and texted to see if everyone was alright. Michael said there had been a “5.0” earthquake, but that Angelina had felt nothing. I checked the QuakeFeed app on my phone to see the epicenter and magnitude of the quake, but nothing showed up. After an hour, I concluded that there had been no earthquake, and no actual phone conversation or text message.
Later that night I was beset by a rancor of unrelenting, cacophonous  voices that grew louder until I could barely think.
Upon reflection, I’ve become aware that a near-continual state of auditory hallucinations have been a predominant symptom throughout my adult life, even predating the diagnosis of my schizophrenia. With this realization, the volume and associated level of distraction has become much worse. In addition to voices, there is knocking on doors with nobody there. I also hear loud, explosive noises in the house when I’m alone.

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