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I work at a large mental health company so here goes...That NPR bit is from a tape that most MH providers have to educate police officers, clinicians, family members, etc. It's about 45 minutes long and you wear headphones and it is fucking scary to hear. By the end you actually think that people are talking about you right in front of your face. Scary as hell.
The people I see expireince Auditory Hallucinations lasting from 1 week on the minimal side to more than 6 months. Most being in the 2-3 month range. At first it starts off with subtle background noise like someone using a vaccum in another room. After a while the constant sound in your head causes a gradual loss of normal functions such as speech, perception, cognative thought. What's fucked up is that people go to one extreme or the other. Some loose speech and become catatonic others uncontrolable laughing.
When that progresses the person begins to have delusions, which simply are false beliefs normally involving misinterpretation of events/experiences. Most common are
1) persecutory - they're being tricked, spied on, laughed at.
2) referential - gestures, books, songs, etc are specificaly about them.
3) religious - grandiose beliefs
Those were the mild effects of auditory hallucinations. Here are the more serious ones.
1) thought withdrawl - someone or something has taking their thoughts out of thier mind.
2) thought insertion - an outside force is placing thoughts into thier mind.
3) delusions of control - body and actions are now in the control of another.
These all manifest several ways. Sometimes the person hears a running comentary of all thier thoughts and actions. Sometimes there are 2 or more voices having a conversation. This usually is followed by the voices yelling and threating the person.
In the end people either go into a catatonic state because they have simply shut down as a last ditch effort. They may being to speak 'word salad' babble with no form or function. Extreme agitation and violence can occur. Wayward sexual behavior, acting like a child, shouting mixed with excessive motor behavoir.
Then for no apparent reason or cause, the people come out of it and are 'perfectly normal' again. They may not experience another relapse for 10-15 years.
I hope that this can help you sort of see how it starts and how it progresses. It's really sad to see these people over an extended period. And I hate to say it but most people that suffer from this are for the most part abandoned by thier families. Fucked up world ain't it?
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Remember kiddies, panic attacks can be fatal 
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