Abstract

Since the introduction of general anesthesia in the middle of the 19th century, incidents of auditory perception during general anesthesia have been reported in the medical literature. Most of these reports have dealt with purely medical issues, and surprisingly little has been written on the psychologic sequelae of these instances of auditory perception. We discuss the possible psychologic consequences of such perception, and suggest methods of treatment and prevention of the negative aspects of auditory perception during general anesthesia.