Clairaudience: Definition, Examples, & Tips

Clairaudience is defined as a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person acquires information by supernormal (paranormal) auditory means (Wikipedia, n.d.-a). Some have suggested that clairaudiently heard voices are the voice of the person’s higher self, their unconscious, God, the Universe, the All, Angels, Spirit Guides, or other entities (Richardson, 2018). 

Clairaudience can sound similar to the type of voice you hear in your head when you engage in self-talk (Richardson, 2018)—it may even be confused with self-talk. However, self-talk tends to include voices such as the inner critic, the inner narrator (the one who describes what you’re seeing, doing, feeling, etc…), and the inner meaning maker (the one who ascribes meaning to thoughts, emotions, experiences, etc…). Clairaudience, on the other hand, tends to revolve more around inner guidance (Richardson, 2018).

Clairaudience Is One of the Clairsenses

Many people are familiar with the idea of clairvoyance, which is when a person acquires information by supernormal (or paranormal) visual means. Clairaudience is in the same category of skills—’the clairsenses’—however, it is auditory rather than visual.

Some of the other clairsenses are:
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• Clairvoyance – clear seeing
• Clairsentience – clear physical feeling
• Claircognizance – clear knowing
• Clairempahty – clear emotional feeling
• Clairsalience – clear smelling
• Clairgustance – clear tasting

What Does Clairaudience Mean?

​‘Clair’ means clear or light. ‘Audient’ is a person who hears or listens. So a clairaudient person is a person who hears clearly. They may hear voices, music, or other sounds that other people don’t hear that may or may not be from other dimensions (Luna, 2022). The ability to hear voices has long been associated with spiritual ability including shamanism and is often viewed as a gift (Richardson, 2018). 

Physicists have shown that all things in the world—even physical, material objects—are made up of vibrations. Each system and molecule vibrates (resonates) at a natural frequency (Wikipedia, n.d.-b). For example, the earth’s resonance is 7.83 Hz—this is known as the Schumann resonance. A quartz crystal used to make a watch might resonate at 32 kHz (Wikipedia, n.d.-c). Physical objects seem solid to us, but in truth, they are vibrations, vibrating at various speeds.

Although humans can generally only detect sounds from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (Purves et al., 2001), anything that vibrates has a frequency and a sound. Big objects have lower frequencies (think of a cello), and small objects have higher frequencies (think of a violin). Take a moment to look around you. All of the objects in your environment are vibrating right now and emitting sounds; your ears just aren’t tuned to hear them. And thank goodness! What a wild cacophony it would be.

All this is to say that there are sounds all around us that we don’t hear…but that doesn’t mean they are not there. Now just imagine a slight turn on the dial that tunes our ears to register a different set of frequencies (Grumbine, 1911). This may explain clairaudience, or it may not; science has not yet explored these questions. 

​​Clairaudience: Mental or Auditory Process?

Our brains may also be involved in clairaudience. Our brains are very good at filtering out information (and noise) that they determine to be irrelevant to the present moment. For example, have you ever been in a crowded restaurant? Despite there being noise all around you, you can still focus on the voice of the person sitting across from you at the table.    

Indeed, being able to filter out extraneous information helps us function in modern life. Failure to do so can lead to challenges. For example, researchers have suggested that dyslexia may be partly explained by the brain’s inability to selectively filter out unnecessary information (Roach & Hogben, 2007). We couldn’t possibly absorb every bit of information coming at us—but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Further, someone who listens with full concentration will hear more than someone who is distracted. Any married couple can tell you that distracted partners don’t listen as well. So increasing our levels of presence, attention, and concentration likely affects whether or not we experience clairaudience.

Clairaudience is one of many clairsenses that tend to emerge as one begins to awaken spiritually. However, one does not need to be spiritual or religious in any way to experience clairaudience. In fact, it appears that the experience of clairaudience is more likely to lead someone to become more spiritual, not the other way around (Powell & Moseley, 2020). 

More specifically, there may be both internal and external causes of clairaudience. For example, clairaudience may emerge when we choose to spend more time listening to silence in nature or during meditation. Or, it may emerge when we decide to give up a drug or alcohol addiction and turn to a higher power for support. Or, it may occur when our beliefs suddenly change about whether spiritual phenomena, like clairaudience, is possible (Luna, 2022; Powell & Moseley, 2020). Whatever the initial cause, clairaudience requires mental openness. Without this openness, it will be difficult to hear new things that may be unusual, unconventional, or even frightening at times (Shutan, 2015).

Researchers of clairaudience propose that there are many benefits of developing this ability. These benefits include (Luna, 2022):

1. Improved listening. The development of clairaudience involves intense concentration during the practice of listening. This skill is then extended to other listening experiences. That is, we listen better to others and may even enjoy music more.
2. Increased insight. When we listen to what we are being told clairaudiently, we often learn things we could not have otherwise learned.
3. Increased peace. The experience of clairaudience may help us develop a deep knowing that there is more to our physical world than we thought, which can provide a sense of peace or relief.

Like other spiritual phenomena, clairaudience can provide a sense of connection, love, inner peace, and insight that is difficult to find elsewhere in our material world.

Theories of personal growth suggest that we progress along multiple quasi-independent lines (e.g., Emotion, Mind, Self), and we generally experience the expanded states of consciousness that are labeled as spiritual experiences during the later stages of this growth (Wilber, 2001). I discuss these lines in detail in my article on spiritual growth. 
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It is my belief that clairaudience emerges during the later stages of growth along the Self-Other (communication) line of growth. It is this line where we hone our communication skills, boundaries in relationships, listening skills, and finding our voice. Indeed, clairaudience is thought to be more common in writers, readers, or people good with language and communication skills (Richardson, 2018).

Clairaudience as an Advanced Listening Skill

While clairaudience is currently considered to be a paranormal ability by those who have not experienced it, I believe clairaudience is just an advanced listening skill that most people have not yet developed. As we develop our listening skills, we may learn how to listen actively—to be more present when hearing others. Or we may learn how to listen empathically—to listen while in resonance with another person’s feelings. 
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These are two well-known and moderately advanced listening skills that the majority of people have not developed. It is my view that clairaudience is just an even more advanced listening skill, so few have developed it. However, spiritual evolution is our natural process (Tolle, 2006), so everyone has the potential to develop clairaudience. ​

To develop clairaudience, we benefit from developing our listening skills. We might begin by listening actively to the people in our lives. To hone your listening skills, start by asking yourself:

• What is the person saying to you? Do you understand them? (Active Listening)
• What is the person feeling? Why are they telling you this? (Empathic Listening)
• How much of what they are saying is true and how much is coming from their ego? (Awareness)
• What is really happening in the conversation? Can you accept this communication for what it truly is? (Allowing)

Next, turn all these questions back on yourself to evaluate your own communication, listen to yourself, and understand your deepest layers. When you can listen to yourself with complete awareness and acceptance, clairaudience may feel like a natural next step in your evolution.

How To Grow Your Clairaudience Ability

To further develop your listening skills into the range of clairaudience, take time to practice listening to things you’ve never listened to before. For example, you might:

• Listen to silence
• Listen to the sounds of a train or car approaching and then moving away
• Listen to birds or crickets
• Listen to the wind
• Listen to all the different components of a song you like

This intentional listening can help you hone your listening skills and enable you to pick up on more and more subtle sounds.

​​Practicing Your Clairaudience Skills

Another strategy that is often used to develop clairaudience is talking to your spirit guides or higher power. This approach is frequently used in AA programs and among spiritual communities. There are many books that can help you connect to your spirit guides. One of my favorites is The Inner Bonding Workbook.

Clairaudience manifests itself differently for different people. Some examples of clairaudience may include:
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• Channeling – Numerous people claim to channel various entities, energies, beings, etc…
• Talking to spirit guides – If we talk to our spirit guides, we may hear responses in an auditory way. Others may get responses visually or through other senses like physical sensations or smells.
• Ear ringing – It is thought that non-tinnitus ear ringing may be related to clairaudience.
• Hearing new frequencies – Clairaudience may involve hearing frequencies we didn’t previously hear.

One study showed that 44% of clairaudient people experience thier ability daily (Powell & Moseley, 2020). Needless to say, if you experience many of these at once (or when you’re trying to sleep), clairaudience can be an intense (both good and bad) experience.

The emergence of clairaudience, particularly when we don’t know what it is, can be scary. Our culture generally frowns upon people who ‘hear voices’ (Richardson, 2018), and so we may block, deny, or ignore this ability. We don’t want to feel like we’re weird or that something is wrong with us. But just know that clairaudience is a gift, and it does not mean that you have schizophrenia (Richardson, 2018). 

In clairaudience, it’s generally clear to us that the voices are inside our heads (Powell & Moseley, 2020). The voices don’t tell us what to do and it’s our choice whether we listen to them or not. The voices are generally very loving—more loving than most humans—and they make us feel really good and safe. And listening may allow us to gain knowledge of a psychic nature or learn about ourselves in new ways. Overall, despite occasional annoyances, clairaudience tends to be a positive experience. Just try to accept yourself and your experience for what it is.

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

• A Beginner’s Guide to the Four Psychic Clair Senses: Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Claircognizance, Clairsentience
• Clair What? Intuitive Development: Understanding:Clairvoyance, Clairessences, Clairsentience, Clairgustance, Claircognizance, Clairaudience
• Mediumship: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Spiritual Medium and Developing Psychic Abilities Such as Clairvoyance, Clairsentience, and Clairaudience

• Grumbine, J. C. F. (1911). Clairaudience, the Philosophy of Its Expression: The Science of Its Practice, how to Commune with the So-called Dead. Order of the white rose.
• Luna, M. (2022). Research with Instrumental Transcommunication and the Development of Clairaudience. International Journal of Conscientiology, 2(1).
• Powell, A. J., & Moseley, P. (2020). When spirits speak: absorption, attribution, and identity among spiritualists who report “clairaudient” voice experiences. Mental health, religion & culture, 23(10), 841-856.
• Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al., editors. Neuroscience. 2nd edition. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates; 2001. The Audible Spectrum.
• Richardson, P. S. (2018). The misunderstanding between schizophrenia and clairaudience.
• Roach, N. W., & Hogben, J. H. (2007). Impaired filtering of behaviourally irrelevant visual information in dyslexia. Brain, 130(3), 771-785.
• Shutan, Mary Mueller. (2015). The Spiritual Awakening Guide: Kundalini, Psychic Abilities, and the Conditioned Layers of Reality. Findhorn Press.
• Tolle, E. (2006). A new earth: Awakening to your life’s purpose. Penguin Life.
• Wikipedia. (n.d.-a) Clairaudience. Retrieved 3/22/2024 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairaudience
• Wikipedia. (n.d.-b) Resonance. Retrieved 3/22/2024 from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonance
• Wikipedia. (n.d.-c) Crystal Oscillator. Retrieved 3/22/2024 from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_oscillator
• Wilber, K. (2001). The eye of spirit: An integral vision for a world gone slightly mad. Shambhala Publications.