Tuning In On Voices

Recently I've come to a huge realization. After ignoring this all my life, and lately reading about being in contact with other beings beyond the physical, I've had to ask myself if it's possible that I've been neglecting a gift/ability.

If anyone else has every experienced this, it would be so nice to know that I'm not alone, but there have been so many instances in life where I've experience a type of static chatter. It's happened while with a group of friends, or just one other person, while in public or private. It's as if I'm sitting in a school cafeteria and unable to hone in on just one voice. But it's never clear, and I wouldn't exactly call the sound "voices"... More like just noise, a buzz, or even idle engine. Just millions of voices making noise.

The reason I've taken notice of these moments is because they tend to stop all of a sudden, like a clap of silence. It catches my attention every time, but I just dismiss it as noise in my head, or static in my ears like when you sit in complete silence. This experience has been so impactful that there are times when the "voices" get really clear to the point of one singular voice, but I'm in a sort of daydream. I snap out and ask the person near me if they said something, but they haven't.

And I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I'm sure many of us have heard someone call our name only to discover they hadn't. This happened often as a child when I thought I'd hear my mother call my name.

I also was an only child for 8 years, and had an "imaginary friend" who I would play with and talk with on a nightly basis while in bed. This imaginary friend's presence felt strongest at around 9 to 11 years old and it seemed to become attached or focused onto a bunch of stuffed animals I had collected. I'd begun to hold mental conversations with them every night while holding my favorite, and watching the moon and stars through my window. I stopped this behavior/activity when about 13 or 14 years old.

Could the imaginary friend actually be my grandfather who passed away while I was a baby? I have no real memories of being with him, but I know what he looks like, and strangely, I know what he smelled like. This smell I've only ever smelled once (fairly recently), and I immediately thought of him.

Is any of this related, and if so, how do I hone in on the voices? Are they thoughts of others around me? Voices from spirits of those who've passed? And If it was more than just an "imaginary friend" who are they and how do I reconnect with them? I'd love to hear about your experiences with any of this.