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Incidents of auditory perception during anaesthesia with traumatic sequelae
Author(s) -
Howard Julius F.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1987.tb120126.x
Subject(s) - perception , psychology , auditory perception , audiology , anesthesia , general anaesthesia , utterance , medicine , neuroscience , computer science , speech recognition
The literature on auditory perception during anaesthesia, while by no means scarce, presents contradictory experimental findings; its reported prevalence ranges from nil to 80%. Due to their anecdotal nature and lack of control, case histories are difficult to evaluate statistically. Nevertheless, they provide a broader base for the understanding of the phenomenon and its implications. Two case histories are presented, both with traumatic sequelae. In the first case, the anaesthetist confirmed his off‐the‐cuff utterance that was perceived by the patient and retained in the anaesthetized patient's memory and acted upon by the patient postoperatively. A possible explanation of auditory perception and its behavioural characteristics are outlined. A suggestion is offered for the potential beneficial application of auditory perception during anaesthesia.