Imagine a dog barking, or an ambulance siren, or your favourite song, if you can hear it in your mind you have an inner voice, but for 1% of the population they don’t have one at all.
The condition is called anauralia, which roughly translates to a silent mind, a term coined by University of Auckland researchers in 2021.
A world first conference exploring the phenomenon has just wrapped up in Auckland.
University of Auckland psychology professor Tony Lambert explained what it’s like to have anauralia to Jack Tame on Breakfast.
“If you ask them to think about a dog they know everything about dogs and have a normal set of knowledge, but they’re not able to imagine the sound of a dog barking so they don’t have that auditory sensory part that is a familiar experience for most people.”
If you can’t complete a simple test then you might have anauralia. (Source: Breakfast)
Lambert also discussed how there can be benefits to having anauralia.
“People who experience anauralia seem to be a little bit better at focusing attention and better at blocking out distractions.
“It seems to fit with Eastern traditions of mindfulness and may have some benefits with being better at concentrating for example.”
In terms of the downsides, having anauralia might make it tougher to be creative, due to the lack of an inner voice that can be manifested into the physical world through music and writing.
Lambert agreed that a good way to test if you have the condition is to try and imagine the sound of a dog barking.
If you are unsuccessful, chances are you are one of the few Kiwis to have anauralia.
