Almost 8-Yr-old "Hearing Voices"

Before you rush him to a phyciatrist, I would wait it out.
My 6 year old started waking up crying running around (like night terrors) but staarted when he was sick and on a codeine cough syrup, about a week or so after he was all better the night terrors or whatever stopped. Sometimes being sick throws off the normal rhythom and weird stuff happends.
Best of luck to you!

I know you have received a lot of advice, much of it from people saying to avoid a doctor. I truly believe that the lord has provided us with doctors so we should utilize them. I always think of this story:

A man saw a warning on televsision that a terrible flood was headed his way. He chose to stay at home stating "god will save me".
The flood started and several police officers came to his house asking him to evacuate, they could provide transportation by boat. Still he chose to stay, stating "god will save me".

As the flood worsened he was forced to the roof of the house. I helicopter flew overhead, but still he refused stating "god will save me".

The man drowned and went to heaven. He asked God "why did you not save me? I prayed and believed in you". His response was "I sent a warning that the flood was coming, I sent a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?".

Please utilize the resources presented to you in the form of doctors. You have the ultimate decision on what medications if any your child is prescribed, but at least you did what you could.

T., while this is scary and can be serious, try to stay calm and don't worry too much at this point.

The first thing your son needs is a physical evaluation by his pediatrician. If his pediatrician acts like he's not in charge, find another ped.
Hearing "voices" can have a physiological background such as tinnitus, which is not unusual after a febrile infection, especially if his ears might have been involved. Also side effects and interactions of any medication he was on should be evaluated, as well as a possible infection of the brain or membranes surrounding the brain.

From there have him evaluated by a child psychiatrist for any mental health issues. There are not many of these specialists and the good ones have wait lists - so go ahead and schedule an appointment now.

Hopefully everything works out. Good luck!

Wow.... talk about varied response. I'm a "hit all targets" kind of person. So here they are:

Personally I wouldn't be TOO worried, but I would probably get it looked at, because if I'm worried at all I believe it's worth alleviating the worry. I would skip the psychiatry/psychological/spiritual (or at the very least save them for dead last) for the following reasons:

1) If it's spiritual, no biggie, spirituality in it's many forms is comforting and many people experience spiritual phenomenon. Since it's bothering him, that would suggest NOT spiritual. Perhaps more to the point... it also since it came from an illness. Eliminate the obvious, before looking for lost car keys in the neighbors chimney.

2) This didn't come out of nowhere. It came out of a flu. Direct causal relationship, indicating a PHYSICAL problem, not a psychological one. You son started hearing voices when he was sick. Any really GOOD psychologist/psychiatrist actually has their patient undergo a full physical workup BEFORE treating a psychological symptom. One of my profs used to say that she would lose at least 2/3s of her clients before they were ever really her clients, because during the workup a physiological cause was found. As extracredit one test she had us list out all of the differentials we could think of that would "snatch" a client away. The AVERAGE number of valid reasons for that extra credit problem was over 100 answers. Here's my brainstorming for just 2 minutes on physiological causes for hearing voices (and I'm not even a doc, merely a student).

Possible causes:

- hallucination (auditory)... caused either by fever or infection

- hallucination (auditory)... caused by sleep dep (sleep dep can bring on stronger hallucinations in most people than LSD)

- hallucination (auditory)... caused by an allergic reaction to medication he was on for the flu (and my Sis is allergic to tylenol... she hallucinates BIG TIME... visual/auditory/physical hallucinations, I'm just slightly allergic to naproxen, visual hallucinations, emotional reaction, & hydrophobia.). A person can literally be allergic to anything on the planet, and can *become* allergic to anything at any time. Most allergies actually come on gradually, the big anaphalactic shock leading to death type allergies are rare. Many allergies manifest themselves in the early stages as mild hallucinations.

- delusion... caused either by fever or infection

- inflammation of his auditory processing center (his brain misinterpreting the signals being sent to it from his ears

- inflammation or infection of the ear/nerves (the parts leading to his auditory processing center)

- inflammation or infection of any of the emotional centers of the brain

- inflammation or infection of any of the higher thought processing centers of the brain

All of the "inflammation", "fever", or "infection" causes have about 50 causes each... which would be pointless to list.

So see a medical doctor and here is what you tell them:

"My son started hearing things when he had the flu. I don't know if it was caused by an infection or fever or a reaction to his medicine, but it's continuing to persist even through the flu appears to be over... which is understandably making us scared."

Avoid the phrase "hearing voices" in the initial consult, because that's too loaded a phrase. They'll ask what he's hearing... and that's when you say "voices, sounds, things that are disturbing him." They'll be able to do a workup at that point (step one is changing any and all meds he's on... although they probably won't tell you that until the end, because step 2 is examining him for signs of continued infection -swollen glands, blood & urine tests etc. It's like in cooking you don't go to the store buy meat, cook meat, wait until it's finished and then go to the store buy potatoes, cook potatoes, wait until it's finished, and then go to the store buy veggies, cook veggies...and then however many hours later put a very cold dinner on the table. You look in the pantry & fridge first, go to the store & buy what you need, and then start cooking in the best order.

3) Someone mentioned "interior dialogue". Huzzah!!! When we're sick, our inhibitions/thought processes alter. If it was noisy or if there was something noise wise bugging him it would be totally rational/expected for his inner voice to be shouting at the world to be quiet, or to shut up. Adults usually act on that voice and shout at people/objects when they're sick... or know that it's their own mind surfacing from the "fog" because of some irritant. Kids, however, are fairly new to the whole interior dialogue... because they tend to be so impulsive that the "quiet voice" doesn't even have time to say "I shouldn't jump off the stairs because it could knock over x, mom will get mad if I knock over x, and even if it doesn't it's going to make a BIG sound." They're usually midair when those thoughts click... and it culminates in one word "Uh-oh". When they're sick though, they have the same lethargy that we do... since they're incapable of moving quickly those thoughts have time to formulate.

So that's my spin & differential, backwards.

1) Interior dialogue ... if I thought it was more than interior dialogue move on to #2
2) Physical reason ... auditory hallucination (or delusion) brought on by fever, infection, inflammation, allergy, or underlying physiological problem. If 30+ tests later yeilded no results (unlikely) move on to #3
3) A psychological problem or spiritual benefit... but all else would have to fail first.

All my best,
z

Before everyone jumps to conclusions it may be that while he was ill he a hallucination. I am now 31 years old, but can remember vividly when I was in 3rd grade I had the flu and a fever. I was sleeping in bed when all of a sudden I thought my sheets and blankets had turned in to an alligator and was trying to eat me. Even after I recovered from the flu I was still scared of blankets for quite sometime and thought I would see them moving out of the corner of my eye. It was not because I was crazy or possessed, it was because I was 8 1/2 and had a extremely active imagination and young children have trouble sometimes distinguishing between reality and fantasy.

Most people have internal dialogue but identify with it and don't consider it a separate voice. His own mind is creating the voice and w/focusing on reality he can learn to take the energy out of the voices/trauma. It is important to bring him into this moment and for him to know that there is nothing wrong with him.

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HE NEEDS FROM YOU IS CALM REASSURANCE THAT HE IS OK. HELP HIM DEAL WITH WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. YOUR CALM IS NECESSARY. GETTING SCARED MAKES IT WORST FOR HIM AS HE LOOKS TO YOU TO SEE IF HE IS OK.

Your son may have thoughts or feeling to talk out - for example he and you where most likely scared by his fevers. Helping him to see that he was afraid, but that he is fine is important. The mind tends to replay what it interpreted as threats. This triggers our survival mechanisms, which then creates a negative emotional reaction and makes the fear more tangible. This launches a cycle that you can change with focusing on reality, reassurance and a peaceful heart. We all have to learn to deal with what we perceive as a threat to our survival. These come and go. Having a good grip on reality gives us the stability to weather these with grace.

I would be very cautious about someone who wants to put him on meds or gives too much power to the voice. Your son has power over the voice. It is the voice of being afraid that is stuck in his head. Ask him directly - what are you afraid of? There is a trend in the industry to diagnose medicate and it is largely unnecessary. This can set off a series of experiences with meds that you don't really want for your child. Additionally, meds are not dealing with the real issue, which is teaching the child to deal with reality right now and stop producing fear. You get more of what you focus on - if you are constantly solving fear, you get more fear. If you are dealing with reality, you become more functional. Of course you recognize the fear, but too often counselors feed it and you end up in years of therapy.

Your son has a chance to recognize that no one or nothing but him controls his mind. These thoughts are the product of fear, fear feeds on fear. It creates more fear by getting you scared, by replaying the old messages and triggering your survival mechanisms.

I am in So. OR. and consult by phone if you would like guidance on this.

Don't panic, your son really needs you to be rational. This is not as unusual as you think it is and panic, more fear will make it worst quickly.

N. Marie

Wow, T., I'm so sorry to hear your son has developed this symptom. Do seek an evaluation soon. If a mental illness is developing here, the sooner your son is receiving care, the better for all of you.

Hearing voices for a brief spell isn't common, but I've had it happen a couple of times. It can pass. Or not. I have known a couple of adults who started hearing voices in their early teens and progressed into lifelong illness.

However this turns out, you know that your son is wonderful. He will be as perfect tomorrow as he was yesterday. Don't judge this any differently than any physical illness. The brain is an organ, just like the heart or stomach, and is vulnerable. Some illness turns out to be chronic.

It can be agony to see our precious children challenged by suffering or fear. And sometimes, such is life. If it turns out to be an ongoing illness, grieve as you must, learn what you can from it, and allow the experience to make you and your family deeper and more compassionate. Fighting, fearing, and denying a new reality are normal human responses, but not especially productive, so I hope you discover early that such suffering can pass.

Blessings to you all. I'll hold you in my prayers.

You didn't say if he has been on any medications, so I'm not sure if this applies. I have a friend (now an adult) who heard her stuffed animals talking to her after she had surgery when she was little. It turned out to be side effects of a medication they had prescribed, and it took her a long time to even tell her mother it was happening. It might be worth exploring. I wish you very much luck in this process!

Warmly,
L.

Hi T.,
Wow, that is very scary and I'm sure you're worried right now! My first thought is that maybe it's more of a PTSD response (post traumatic stress) than anything else ? If it happened when he had a high fever and it scared him, I'm wondering if that's why it is continuing now. The fact that it was brought on by an event vs. out of the blue is a good thing in my opinion. Had it started happening out of the blue, to me that would be scarier and more representative of an organic issue going on.
I am a school psychologist and one Ph.D. level clinical psychologist I'd definitely recommend is Dr. Dan Quiggins. He is located in Portland. Here is a link to his contact information:
http://web2.userinstinct.com/36472953-dan-quiggins-phd.htm
I hope this helps you. Good luck!
S.

You've had a lot of different opinions here. I just wanted to add another one for you. :) I don't think your son has any mental illness or has to fight off any spirits. I'm quite sure this is just a lingering affect of the illness. I had a high fever in high school and during it had a particular dream/image that was vivid and negative. It took me a few weeks to shake it. Every once in a while that image/feeling still comes over me, especially when I'm very tired (and I'm 36!). I would stay calm, help your son step away from it with some fresh air and/or favourite books. Give it a few weeks, keep up open honest conversation.

All the best!

My guess is that the voices your son heard were because of the fever. "Hearing Voices" is generally associated with schizophrenia but 8 is awefully young to have that (not unheard of, but definately uncommon). If you feel the need to have this followed up on, I would start with a develomental pediatrician. If there is not a physiological reason behind the voices, I would take your son to a pediatric psycologist. They can make a diagnosis but are not able to prescribe medications. They can make recommendations though. I always feel more comfortable with a psycologist rather than a psyciatrist as they can't prescibe meds and they don't have that alterior motive for making a diagnosis.
Good Luck.

It sounds like your son had encephalitis. You should follow up with your pediatrician, who should refer you to a pediatric neurologist as well as developmental pediatrician. There is more info about it here (be sure to take the link for "symptoms" - and note that one of them is "mental disturbances.") There is so much that doctors don't know about the human body - and much of it has to do with the brain. Be persistent, and make sure they give you the appointments you need in a timely manner. Be aware that this can return, and CLOSELY watch your son with any subsequent fevers. Once you've had an infection settle in the brain, the doorway is open and it is common for the same thing to happen again.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/encephalitis/DS00226

Best of luck to you!

You may think I am crazy about this one also but have you ever heard of Sylvia Brown? She is a psychic, claims to be God given talent..... she says that children see spirits and/or hear spirits. She says that sometimes, not all the time that children will have a make beleive friend which will not be make beleive to them. They are spirits that come back to protect them. I like Sylvia Brown and when my children were small and they claimed to see or hear things, I always asked them what they looked like or what they said. I never discounted them. Sylvia Brown says that some children are sensitive and can see spirits where adults can't. They grow out of it. There has been many documented cases that children have described a deceased person that they said they saw. Maybe while your son was sick, a deceased spirit came back to watch over him and take care of him.
I wouldn't jump to the psychiatrists this early. Talk to him some more. If it doesn't seem to be bothering him physically then just ask him questions about the voices and if he sees anyone. Now if he is having a bad headache with it, it is probably not voices but the headache and sometimes the blood trying to squeeze through the vessels that are causing the headache are making it hurt and appear that he hears voices and he really doesn't. I would keep an eye out on him and make sure you communicate with him ALOT.

Wow, such varied responses?! My first thought when I read that was did he by chance take tamiflu when be had the flu and high fever?! My son got swine flu this past fall, very minor and barely even noticable but we have a newbrn and because that, we took him to our pediatrician to be sure and they confirmed it was the swine.. Gave us all tamiflu and of course wanted to k ow what the drug was about and a lot of what I was reading is that it causes hallucinations, voices in head, etc..

So when I read your post that was my first thought?? My son is only 2 but never seemed affected but in my research online it did seem to happen to a lot of kids so t might be worth looking into if that's the case?!

Good Luck and don't let all these posts scare you. It obviously was triggered by his high fever and hopefully it's only temp but maybe seeing a physciatrust mght help you I. Helping your son work through this and getting those voices out of his head,.. Somehow having himself those voices aren't real and getting his mind to go elsewhere when that occurs again like maybe focusing on something he really loves?! Like if he is in to star wars or whatever, have him think of do ething happy or have him do somethi g to distract his mnd???

Good luck and ill keep your son in my prayers that it goes away!!

Hi There,
I know you asked for a PDX doctor, but we have had such positive experience at Marcin Youthcare that I had to share. Dr. Marcin is so kind that we look forward to our visits (my son has autism and he manages his medication in a very conservative but effective way). He has offices in Salem and Corvallis, and a website www.marcinyouthcare.com. His help has changed my son's life.
I hope this helps. Best of luck.
Kate

You have received a lot of advice, but noone has asked this question: Is it bothering him? You only said he told you about the voices and what they are saying. Is he scared? Are the voices mean? Are they adult? Child? More than one? Does he see anything? Could be spirits. Could be a very active imagination. Could be lingering hallucinations as a result of medication and/or fever. Could be mental illness.

Regardless of how he feels about these voices, I would start with a full pediatric follow-up. If he is not bothered, I would tread lightly. Do not make him feel anxious about the voices as this could exacerbate the situation. Follow your gut. If you believe in natural healing, then visit a naturopath. Try acupunture. Try a chiropractor. If you believe in medicine, visit a psychologist. I would do that if your son is scared or says he hears mean voice(s). If you believe it is a harmful spirit, consider a priest or other religious official. But start with the pediatrician.

I assume he goes to school, so he can certainly hear unwanted phrases there. My children come home with more than education all the time. I applaud you for asking this question, as it is a very difficult one to ask. I wish you the best of luck and please keep us posted as to his progress.

Use your mommy intuiton! We have it for a reason and sometimes we might disreguard that inner voice because we might not want to deal with what it is telling us!!

I've had a lot of experience in this area. If you have no experience with spiritual phenomena, it sounds much scarier than it is.

If it was my child, I would pray with him, see how he progresses over the next couple of weeks, esp. if it is a fever-related thing. If there is no further progress, take him to my priest for healing prayers and see if the voices quiet down any. In my family's experiences, voices can be a spiritual phenomena - and are usually from what I call "the negative spiritual realm". They can actually come and go. Any kind of physical or spiritual trauma can bring them on. Children are often more open and aware than us of the spiritual realm. In our church (The Orthodox Christian Church - think Greek or Russian Orthodox (www.antiochianladiocese.org) - the only unchanged church in 2000 years) we have icons, holy water, incense and crossing ourselves, - all to help the spiritual life and ward off negative forces.

Another reason he could hear voices is chemical and is usually diagnosed as schizophrenia. I have a friend who is a diagnosed schizophrenic - however, she also has hallucinations not just voices. She believes her voices are demonic. She is on medication and is making progress spiritually. I believe HER problem isn't spiritual as much as chemical.

The first problem that I mentioned is in my opinion, occurs more often and is often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. In my experience, I myself was hearing voices which came on the heels of a bad occultic experience. No I do not have these voices any more, thank God. I would have overcome this experience about 5 years sooner, had I discovered the Orthodox church earlier. DO NOT go near Psychics, or Wiccans, or anything that is occultic in nature. It will make his situation worse. It's better to not do anything.

Recently our church helped a man who ran into trouble spiritually when he contacted a "spirit guide" through Eastern Mysticism beliefs that started giving HIM voices telling him he was going to die. The voices lied (he's still alive), and after prayer and a house blessing they stopped for the most part almost immediately.

If you are at all interested in more information, let me know.

God bless you and your family. I'll be praying for you.

I guess you have to go with your gut, but I don’t think I would rush my daughter to a psychiatrist right away, only if the situtation became unsafe, harmful in some way. I would talk with her and find out more of what these voices say and how she feels about them - do they have names -etc. Trying not to make it a big deal, kids have imaginary friends all the time.
Since it seemed to come on with a sickness I would take her to a neurologist, just to have some tests run to ensure infection or some sort of damage wasn’t done while she had a fever. Then I would get a second opnion. General practice Pedi's sometimes dont think out of normal childhood sicknesses.
Then for fun, I might go see Rene - she is really nice and maybe can give you a different perspective. http://www.askrenee.com/
Hang in there and give us an update!

You can see a psychiatrist or an intuitive/healer but will get very different answers. I personally would be more comfortable with an intuitive or healer because I've been seeing an energy healer for almost two years and she has helped me a great deal. The one I'm seeing studied Brennan. She can use high sense perception to see and hear things from other dimensions and heal someone's energy system. My kids have all heard or seen things at various times, often during sleep (when awake briefly). Now that I understand it, it doesn't scare me. I ask my kids what the saw or heard and we discuss it. Recently my 3 year old was hearing voices and seeing beings for about 6 hours one night when sick with a fever. Every once in a while she'd say one seemed bad, but mostly they were what she described as princesses (angels perhaps?) and she wanted to kiss them. There was one being who kept wanting her to go with her and she actually got off the bed to go with her when she must have done something to scare her because she turned around and high-tailed it back to the bed. Several times she was talking to them. Another time she told me "goodbye" several times and said they were asking her to go with them. This didn't sit too well with me so I told her to tell them "no." Later I asked my healer what I could do for her when this happens (she couldn't sleep all night). She taught me how to put one hand in front of her head (in front of the third eye) and another behind her head, about the same distance until your hands sort of lock in place (where you feel the chakras--I can usually feel them, but this takes practice). Especially when kids are sick their chakras can become unbalanced and putting the hands near the head like this balances the 6th chakras (third eye). The third eye, if open too fully, especially when someone is sick or their energy vibration is lower, will all the person to view things from lower dimensions which can be scary at times, perhaps ghosts for example. If a person's vibration is higher they will only see pleasant things like angels and guides. I'm sure you can find an energy healer like a Brennan healer in the Portland area and most likely they will be able to help and reassure you that it is not quite as scary as it sounds. Of course, you can also follow up with a traditional medical approach to feel like you've covered your bases. To reassure you I think most kids see or hear something at some point, but usually adults tell them it's not real, they doubt themselves, and after a while it goes away, although some people develop it into pyschic skills or high sense perception. I think I used to see things when I was little but I learned to turn it off. I wish you the best, and don't worry too much.

We really like Dr. Kurt Kemmerer at Broadway Clinic. ###-###-####

Oh my, I am so sorry he is going through this. I think since it was after an illness, a fever which can affect the brain, that he may need an MRI (brain scan). The internet can be scary to look up medical information on, so he needs to see a specialist. I would also worry less if this kind of thing doesn't run in your family. But I would see a homeopath too.
I had a friend that went through something similar with her daughter & the psychatrist put her on very heavy medications. I only wish she had gone to Dr. Taylor, our son's doctor. He an MD but does homeopathy too & can definately help with something as strange & potentially serious as this. He is also very affordable, just get on his student shift. ###-###-#### Good luck.

Oh my gosh!! This is happening to us!! My daughter has had a fever and it usually happens with the fever but not always. It is Christmas (Started 12/21) and our doc is out of town until Thursday. We are so worried. Our daughter hears people screaming. She is afraid we are going to die on a boat or plane. She continues to hear people screaming. She is very sensitive to noise when these episodes of people screaming take place. Usually, it is with fever but not always. It does always happen with sleep. Please, please let me know what happened. We're very scared.

A very good friend of mine is a pediatric psych mental health nurse practitioner. He works at Broadway Medical Clinic in Hollywood. His name is Kurt Kemmerer. Best of luck to you.

Hi T., I understand how you feel I would be worrid as well. T. children hear things adults dont. Thats been proven fact. How long have you lived in your home? Maybe it's NOT in his head and maybe it's a spirit? DON'T freakout and think WACKKO,,, I have a friend that went through something like this and thats what it was. Her son doesn't hear the voices anymore. Ask your son if it's a women or mans voice, get a little info out of him, write it all down keeping a log of whats happening. when he hears the voices, write it down. I hope and pray it's something like he needs tubes in his ears or needs to have his ears checked (in the canal)? WOW I would really love to hear what you do and how and what works for your lil guy..... I will pray for you and your family
C.

Please keep in mind that my advise comes from only one semester of ab-psych :) First off... have your son evaluated by a regular doctor. The flu/ fever could have upset something physically. This could simply be a matter of needing antibiotics! Secondly, I learned in my psych class that they don't consider it to be a psychological problem unless it intefers with his daily life, or if you and other family members are concerned. If this doesn't bother your son, doesn't affect his ability to live his life or function, and no other family members are worried... then I would question whether this could be something normal... Maybe 8 year old imagination? But, obviously you are concerned, so I thought I would include an explanation - straight out of psych class - for 'hearing voices'. All abnormal psych conditions are actually normal everyday thoughts/behaviors with the volume turned way up. For example, 'hearing voices' is just the voices we all hear in our heads (our own inner voice). However, people with mental conditions attribute these voices to something outside of themselves. If it turns out that your son has this problem, there are medications that can help! If the problem is a spiritual one... I've heard (not through any college class!) that putting a live plant/animal in the room can help to quiet things. Don't know where I heard this advice... perhaps it was a program I saw on Edgar Cayce, but it seemed to make sense to me :) Good luck with your search, and remember... don't let anyone diagnose mental illness without a thorough physical evaluation!!!

T.,

If you are a christian e-mail me back. We have solutions and have had lots of results.

N.

Skip the psychology. Psychologist will only make a mess of this situation. Spirits are involved here, nasty ones. You can take him to a very reputable person who knows how to remove them.
Often during a sickness a child meets their own spirit guides (guardian angels),
or learns their life's mission. That did not happen to your son the wrong type snuck in.
Go on line at Powell's and look for Angel's and Companions in Spirit. The book will tell you what to do and exactly how to do it.

Hi T. -

You weren't specific about the fever, but was it very high? My mother likes to tell me the story about one time when I had a fever so high as a young child that I actually became delirious. I have no memory of this but she says that it scared the hell out of her! (I spoke of voices, hallucinations etc.). My own thought would be that if that was the case, it might take a few weeks to shake - especially in a kid young enough that they're not able to separate "reality" from the effects of an illness. Perhaps he's just remembering what he may have been hearing last week.
I wouldn't rush to a psychiatrist, either! Wait it out a couple of weeks, maybe try to talk to your son about how the voices were related to his fever. I would be freaked out too, but I think at this point I'd be more angry that his doctor was so dismissive with you. Jerk. Good luck!

Have lived in the Chicago area all my life. When I was a 4 year old boy (now 64) I experienced a very high fever of 105 degrees. As if the fever wasn't bad enough, I also distinctly remember hearing many deep and loud male voices and have only discussed this experience later in life. It would be a frightening experience for anyone, but as a young child it was terrifying.
When the fever subsided after many cold towels were applied to cool the fever, the voices never returned. But to this day about 60 years later, i still remember the experience and the exact sound that I heard. There were no distnct words, just deep and loud male voices.
Later in life I was listening to a program where all the members of the English parliment raised their voices in a disagreement response. That was the same sound that I heard when the fever was at its peak.
Again, the voices never returned, but I remember the sound distinctly. Maybe your son is remembering the same thing I still remember.

In my life I went on to become a musician, singer and singer-songwriter. i have earned most of my living as software developer which I'm still doing to this day. I've read that the experience can make you withdraw in certain situations and i do experience some of that, but I have performed in front of audiences for most of my life and still do. I started performing, singing and playing guitar at a young age(7), so maybe that's why I've always been comfortable with it. Math was my best subject, primarily Algebra, Comprehension was a struggle, but have since improved that by forcing myself to read more often. We all have gifts and struggles, so we flow with the gift and persevere through the struggles.
Married 38 years with three children, all now grown and on their own.