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Confusing Objects Scare

WIGO23
WIGO23 Member Posts: 289
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in Caring For a Spouse or Partner

My DH with ALZ just brought me his hearing aids and asked me what these funny looking pills were for and why did he have to take them. These aids are not in the ear, bud types but larger, over the ear with tubes type. In no way do they resemble pills. This really frightened me because I immediately became concerned that if he confuses something like that for medication again, might he swallow it?

He has confused some small things occasionally before but never being so far off base as this. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Is this behavior an indication of any particular stage or worsening decline?

Comments

  • Goodlife2025
    Goodlife2025 Member Posts: 355
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    It is called Agnosia. It is fairly common my DW has manifestations of this since early stages affecting her vision. I included a link to more info here. https://alzda.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PRC-Quick-Tips-8-As-of-Dementia-Agnosia-1.pdf

  • Sunfish47
    Sunfish47 Member Posts: 79
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    So scary and so sad. We have to be aware of what they’re doing at all times. PWDs get to a point that they just don’t know what objects are used for anymore. This is similar to not knowing or being able to use the tv remote anymore. I have watched my DH try to make a phone call using the tv remote. So sad.

  • Iris L.
    Iris L. Member Posts: 5,465
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    It is not uncommon for PWD to attempt to eat objects or to drink any liquid, such as bleach. You will have to dementia-proof your home the way you would for a toddler.

    Iris

  • Snipe
    Snipe Member Posts: 11
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    DW also tries to change the TV with the phone or answer the TV remote when the phone rings. Several weeks ago I caught her putting dawn dish detergent in her glass of water because she liked the blue color. I’ve since kept it out of the way. Such a terrible disease.

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 6,522
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    Agnosia. A friend was helping her mom get ready for bed. Friend gently removed mom's hearing over-the-ear hearing aids and placed them on the dressing table to put fresh batteries in them when her mom scooped them up and tossed them in the denture bath.

    My dad was constantly answering the TV remote and trying to control the cable box with his flip phone.

  • beachwalker5
    beachwalker5 Member Posts: 19
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    edited May 25

    My DW couldn't understand why her cell phone wasn't charging. When I checked the charger set-up, she had plugged the small USB end of the charger cable directly into one of the wall outlet sockets (!!!). Luckily, there was no connection and the GFI didn't trip. Most alarming, she did this a second time after I explained the need for the white adapter block. Her "learning function" is totally broken.

  • Bill_2001
    Bill_2001 Member Posts: 160
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    Hearing aids, dentures, eyeglasses and contact lenses become useless for a person with dementia at some point. The losses are non-stop and heartbreaking. The same goes for hearing tests and eye exams - only objective exams are of use; subjective tests that rely on your loved one's ability to respond become less and less useful.

    My dear wife no longer wears jewelry because she had tried to eat her earrings. The day I put her wedding ring back into its box (over 5 years ago now) was a gut-punch reminder that the disease is literally taking my wife from me.

    Slowly begin to take small objects from your loved one. I also remind all doctors and specialists that certain tests are pointless, and I advise them to "do what they can" and not to worry if certain tests cannot be completed.

    Love Bill_2001

  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 3,304
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    Lock all cabinets and doors to keep them safe. They are like toddlers.

  • Sunfish47
    Sunfish47 Member Posts: 79
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    My DH has some hearing loss and I refuse to get him fitted for hearing aids cuz they will just end up being additional items I will have to find for him (along with his wallet, cell phone, eyeglasses thats he’s always misplacing). I spend hours every week looking for things he has hidden/misplaced. So I just try to always face him when I’m talking to him so he can hear me better, and maybe do some lip reading (which is a skill that hard of hearing folks learn to develop).

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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