Advice on auditory hallucinations?

caregiverthoughtful

I've been searching and reading the forums for a while, looking for my situation but I've not quite found it. I'm a caregiver for my aunt. She's diagnosed with Dementia, but doing quite well, able to clothe herself, eat, walk around, etc. The biggest problem is hearing voices, as she has been for a year. For the most part she remembers dates, details of life, etc, she just hears members of her family, and fully believes they are talking to her. They seem to be a constant presence, from morning til night, until she falls asleep. She says they tell her things, narrate what she's doing, and in the evenings promise her they are on their way. She insists we get ready for them, that they will be coming down from Heaven? and tries to push for extra food to be made for dinner, or items to be moved around so they will have space. Of course she can't really comprehend so this happens everyday, only occasionally will she mention that they never seem to come. Occasionally she'll become upset with it, begging me to go fetch them from the driveway, or frustrated when I can't find something she wants at the store, things they've told her they've seen. She's currently on Divalproex which helps some of the anger and frustration she seems to have, before she would run outside searching for them, or yell for their attention. Has anyone else had experience with this? I use a lot of diversion, trying to turn her attention to something else but lately she seems like she's not telling me about them as much, getting frustrated and lashing out whoever she is hearing and I worry that after a year I'm doing something wrong. Thank you.

​fesk

Sounds like she needs to be evaluated by her doctor. I actually have a relative who had no issues other than hearing voices. She wore hearing aids and apparently, this does happen to some people with hearing loss. It mostly happened with her when it was quiet, so it was recommended that a noise machine or music be on to help. She was put on medication that eventually helped resolve the issue.

If you haven't already, please take your aunt to the doctor to rule out any medical cause for the change. If there isn't one, the doctor should be able to prescribe medicine to help with the hallucinations.

caregiverthoughtful

> @"​fesk" said:
> Sounds like she needs to be evaluated by her doctor. I actually have a relative who had no issues other than hearing voices. She wore hearing aids and apparently, this does happen to some people with hearing loss. It mostly happened with her when it was quiet, so it was recommended that a noise machine or music be on to help. She was put on medication that eventually helped resolve the issue.
> If you haven't already, please take your aunt to the doctor to rule out any medical cause for the change. If there isn't one, the doctor should be able to prescribe medicine to help with the hallucinations.

We've had her seen a few times, it was her that prescribed the last medication. I hadn't thought of using a noise machine but I think I'll look into that, thank you!

M1

Agree that a noise machine or soft music might help. Teaching in medical school is that auditory hallucinations are always psychogenic, while visual can either be psychogenic or drug induced. Makes one wonder about Lewy Body dementia as hallucinations can be very prominent and other memory functions fairly well preserved.

cdgbdr

My friend's mother was in a similar situation. When she moved to an AL, the voices didn't go with her. She likely had Lewy Body dementia.

caregiverthoughtful

It's been suggested that she has Lewy Body, but unfortunately we are in a rural area and it's hard to get second opinions, the kind of healthcare I wish we could get her. Thank you all so much for the suggestion and shared experience, I'm looking into getting a white noise machine, hopeful that will help some.

​fesk

Keep us posted.

SDianeL

this might help: https://www.dementiauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dementia-uk-lewy-body-dementia-managing-hallucinations-visual-perceptual-changes.pdf

caregiverthoughtful

Hopefully it's okay to add this update.

Wanted to pop in after finally getting the white noise machine and trying it for a while and say that I've definitely seen some improvement in her auditory hallucinations, both during the day and when she sleeps at night. She'll occasionally still try to listen for them but it seems like especially at night they don't bother her quite as bad. Wanted to thank those who suggested the machine and also offer my own experience for anyone in a similar situation.

​fesk

That's great news. I'm glad it's helping.

Stan2

I just read that some patients using memantine have reported auditory hallucinations.

Carl46

Stan, thanks for that. My wife takes memantine, and she has been reporting things said to her that I didn't hear. Nasty things like people snickering at her, and saying "WHO are YOU?" I'm going to check into this.