Hearing hallucinations

MsG82

Mom is in mid stage, she still knows everyone but has no short term memory. Lately she is hearing sounds that no one else is hearing. She hears terrible wind (when the wind is not blowing) and today she heard a roaring engine. Is this related to dementia or something else altogether? I’m her full time care giver.

CatsWithHandsAreTrouble

Hi MsG82. Yes, auditory hallucinations are common in dementia and I believe will become more frequent as the disease progresses. If they cause her distress, validate her feelings and try to distract her with something else and redirect her to a different topic. I think there are some medication that may help with general anxiety if the hallucinations are troubling her. If they don't bother her, then there's nothing to worry about in my opinion.

What you don't want to do is be completely dismissive about it because it's very real to her and can make her upset thinking that you don't care.

Sometimes my mom hallucinates the neighbors being loud. I agree with her that they're loud and ask her if she'd like me to go tell them to be quieter. Usually she'll be content with my offer and it stops bothering her. Other times she will have a conversation with a voice she's hallucinating and I let it go if she's enjoying herself and only intervene if she starts to get irritated.

She used to hallucinate radio talkshow hosts taunting her intelligence at the beginning, among other things. I am not sure if we had a medication change to stop that or she "grew out of it."

CatsWithHandsAreTrouble

Oh, forgot to mention that it could also be tinnitus or something else effecting her hearing. If you're really worried, try getting her to the doctor to rule out any ear trouble

towhee

Does anything seem to trigger this, such as getting up from sitting or walking, or walking and then standing still? Or loud noise?

Jo C.

While there can be auditory hallucinations, there can also be physical causes for such dynamics.

A few months ago, I began to have a very strong, "wind" sound in my right ear . . . it was like a loud, "awhoosh-awhoosh-awhoosh," and persisted, never going away and could increase in intensity. Finally, after a few days duration, it diminished and then disappeared right before I was to see the doctor.

Does your LO complain of being dizzy or light-headed or do you see any change in her mobility or stability when up or changing position?

I would wait a bit before chalking this up to being a hallucination; there may be a physical auditory issue which may need to be ruled out.

Never let a physician immediately chalk up any changes to dementia before ruling out every possible physical cause. Our LOs are just like us, they have many different body systems and not everything is caused by dementia. It was something I had to advocate with for my LO with dementia.

J.

MsG82

Mom seems to hear the sounds when there is no other sound. (She wears hearing aids.) We live in the country. So it’s very quiet when my 91 yo dad turns off the tv. Mom is legally blind with MD so she can’t entertain herself at all. I think the quiet triggers her mind to make some noise. I’ll have to talk my dad into leaving the tv or a radio on. She does not get dizzy and we keep and eye on her bp. She is on antibiotics for a UTI. Maybe things will settle down when that treatment is finished. Thanks for all the comments.

harshedbuzz

If the onset of auditory hallucinations coincides with her UTI treatment, it could be a side effect of the medication. Certain antibiotics, NSAIDS and some benzos can also cause this. I would contact the prescriber to ask.

My dad had auditory hallucinations in the middle stages. His were mostly kids playing upstairs after they were supposed to be in bed. These didn't trouble him aside from being disobeyed by "the kids". Mom would tell him she told them to settle down and he'd stop complaining. Perhaps you could try to tell her you've shut the window to see if it changes things.

HB