Questions about Schizophrenia?!

Questions about Schizophrenia?

1. I know you don't get schizophrenia really until you're around 14. At this point, will you start hearing voices and whatnot right away? Will they necessarily be clear, and telling you to kill someone?

2. Should I be worried if I hear beeps in my ears that go away if I concentrate hard.

3. Do you know the url to any tests for early schizo?

4. What are OTHER symptoms of schiz?

I would not assume that hearing "beeps" is an early sign of schizophrenia and I'd be more concerned if you had thoughts that what you were hearing were "messages" and "signs" without realizing that it may be a symptom of a medical condition affecting your hearing which you need to have ruled out first, particularly if it has happened on numerous occasions. The major symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as disordered thinking, perceptual abnormalities (usually auditory and/or visual) and affective (emotional) irregulaties that seem incongruent with current context. The symptoms are generally not sudden in onset and build gradually to an acute episode after a prodrome phase. The following is an excerpt from similar questions I've answered:

Schizophrenia is an illness that is biogically based. You inherit a predisposition for the disorder which is generally triggered by stress. The precise genetic mechanism is not clear, but it appears that multiple genes are involved so it is difficult to predict exact rates for inheritance patterns. The genetic component is demonstrated via twin studies which show concordance rates to be significantly higher between identical twins than between fraternal twins who have genetic make-ups that are the same as siblings. However, concordance rates among identical twins are not nearly 100%, thus there is clearly an environmental component to the disorder.The typical age of onset is in the late teens to early 20's (the college years).

The general characteristics include both "positive" (acute) symptoms and "negative" (residual) symptoms and there is a prodromal phase, acute phases and residual phases. There are a lot of technical aspects to the correct diagnosis which I won't elaborate, but in general the characteristic signs are any combination of the following:

"Positive" signs:
-Hallucinations (primarily auditory, less often visual and rarely tactile, gustatory or olfactory)
-Delusions (fixed or variable, paranoid/persecutory and grandiose, somatic, erotomanic, nihilistic, etc.-they run the gamut of various types, "ideas of reference" where a person believes that random events have a special meaning meant just for them, delusions of thought control or thought insertion)
-Disorganized Thinking ("Loose associations" where thoughts are strung together with little cohesiveness, "perseveration" where a person gets stuck on the same thought or theme over and over like a needle that skips on a record and keeps replaying )
-Disorganized Behavior (catatonic excitement, catatonic stupor which is like posturing-usually only seen in extremely severe cases and rarely any more)
-Poor Concentration and inability to focus on a thought, sometimes "blocking" where a thought becomes interrupted in midstream)
-Disorganized speech (incoherence, rambling or circumstantial speech-lots of fancy terms like echolalia, word salad, verbigeration, clanging)
-Inappropriate Affect (inappropriate giggling, tears, silliness, etc. that is out of context to the situation)

"Negative" signs:
-social withdrawal and preference to isolate
-flattened or blunted affect (emotional expression)
-Amotivation (lack of motivation, apparent apathy)

Prodromal symptoms are less acute and precede the "active" phase where the "positive" symptoms become prominent. A prodrome often looks like a Schizoid or Schizotypal Personality Disorder where you tend to see things like emotional blunting, social withdrawal, odd or eccentric behavior, sometimes manifested in certain unusual preoccupations, idiosyncratic thinking that strikes people as "odd" rather than outright bizarre. For example, strange beliefs that are uncharacteristic, reading hidden and overly personal messages into random events or preoccupation with signs and symbols. Auditory hallucinations may begin at this point and people may wear headphones constantly to drown out the voices or become obsessed with unplugging electrical appliances, etc., believing them to be the source of the stimuli. Again, these are only examples and not present in every case. Outward signs that observers notice tend to be centered around decreased attention to hygiene and appearance generally (like wearing the same clothes for days on end without washing them), disrupted sleep patterns, a more distant interpersonal stance or odd habits that seem out of character, like avoiding certain foods, colors, places, etc. or always wearing a certain item.

There are 5 distinct types:
1-Paranoid: most organized thinking of the types-prominent delusions and hallucinations
2-Disorganized (Hebephrenic): Grossly disorganized thinking and behavior predominates and inappropriate affect with grimacing, giggling, etc. unrelated to the situational context
3-Catatonic: catatonia, with waxy flexibility, posturing or catatonic excitement rarely seen any more
4-Undifferentiated: no clear predominant symptoms
5-Residual: Primary negative symptoms-often seen as a "burned out" version where there are fewer positive or acute symptoms

Schizophrenics often are able to maintain jobs in low stress environments with minimal interpersonal demands once they are stabilized. Others may work in sheltered employment with support and guidance. Social skills are greatly impaired and schizophrenics often have great difficulty reading the social cues most of us take for granted and thus they misjudge or misread social situations which reinforces their tendency to self-isolate as do paranoid symptoms. Intimacy is exceptionally difficult as well and they rarely form close or deep bonds with others, making it difficult to function as husbands and parents. They tend to appear aloof and distant emotionally, although often this is a way of coping with feelings of being overwhelmed by other people's emotional expression and demands.

Medication often serves to either completely control the acute symptoms or dampen their impact, but tends to have minimal impact on the negative symptoms. The side effects are often horrendous and intolerable and this leads to a familiar pattern of stopping medication, beginning the trend of repeated courses of decompensation leading to re-hospitalization.

The ineffectiveness of meds and the emotional blunting they can cause often leads to attempts to self-medicate with alcohol or marijuana (usually) which often increase symptoms.

Schizophrenics often perceive the world in unique and idiosyncratic ways which can cause them difficulty in complying with social norms and expectations, even simple things like generally accepted standards for cleanliness or hygiene. It can also lead them to exceptional creativity and expression in arts and abstract disciplines. Examples of famous schizophrenics are the poet and artist, William Blake (I have many of his works in my office for inspiration) and John Nash, the Nobel Prize winner featured in the movie "A Beautiful Mind".

Get your hearing checked first before jumping to any conclusions that may not be warranted, okay?