"Can you hear?"

I was sitting with a new patient as part of my initial assessment. The following conversation took place:

Patient to me: "Can you hear?"

Me, puzzled: "Yes?"

Patient: "What do you hear?"

Me, listening intently: "I hear a machine running on the other side of the room."

Silence.

More silence.

Then I asked: "What do you hear?"

Patient: "Voices."

No answer as to what the voices were saying. I sat silently while my patient looked off in the distance and continued to listen.