Normal household noise becomes intolerable???

My DH went through that but it seems to have diminished now that we are coming to the end of stage 6/ starting stage 7. The worst was when I was loading or unloading the dishwasher. Noise intolerance is very common and it is very hard for them to process what is going on around them. Hang tough! Glad you vented

Thank you for this jgirl. My DH is the same driving me nuts, the dishwasher particularly, next door neighbours talking, the dog barking. I think he might be slipping into stage 7 but I’m not sure how to tell all I know is things are getting harder.

To all: I found this info from Natalie Edmonds:

Normal Aging vs Dementia Related Hearing Problems

Many older adults experience hearing loss. They ask people to repeat things, turn up the television, or have trouble in noisy places. These are usually issues with the ears themselves and often improve with hearing aids.

With dementia, the ears may work fine. The challenge is the brain’s ability to interpret what it hears.

Your loved one may hear your words but be unable to understand their meaning. They may listen to the sound but cannot process the message.

Common Hearing Related Changes in Dementia

Difficulty understanding speech

Especially in noisy environments, the brain struggles to separate important sounds from background noise. Your loved one might be able to hear the waitress speaking, but their brain cannot process her words.

Sound distortion

Sometimes voices sound too loud, too harsh, or confusing. This is why someone with dementia may accuse you of yelling at them even when you are speaking normally.

Trouble following conversations

They may nod politely while talking to you, but moments later seem confused. The nodding was not understanding. It was an attempt to keep up without revealing their difficulty.

What You Might Notice

• Repeatedly asking what, even though their hearing seems fine

• Turning the television volume up extremely high

• Saying things like stop yelling at me when you are speaking gently

• Avoiding conversations because they feel overwhelmed

To help with this, try reducing background noise, facing your loved one while speaking, and breaking information into shorter, simpler phrases.

Here is link to full article on how dementia affects the 5 senses:

https://careblazers.com/how-dementia-changes-the-five-senses-what-caregivers-need-to-know/ .

My DH experiencing/exhibiting many of these as well. Hang in there everyone! The next change in this terrible/heartbreaking disease is right around the corner!

Hugs to all. 💝

My DH is also hard of hearing and rarely wears his hearing aids. He doesn't find noise intolerable but he often is surprised/startled by a normal household sound and cannot identify what it is. The hydroponic watering system comes on every night at 10 and invariably he will jerk his head around and ask what was that. It appears to me that the problem isn't the particular noise per se but the inability to figure out what it was. TY to JGreen for posting Natalie Edwards remarks. Very helpful.

My DH is having similar problems. If he hears a banging or knocking noise he says someone is knocking on the door or he says “what’s that noise” if the refrigerator ice maker drops ice. He also complains that most restaurants are too noisy and he hates the ones that play music. He says most music is just noise but we do go to concerts. When there he wears ear plugs bc he says the music is too loud. He’s also hard of hearing but won’t wear his hearing aids.