Experiences or ideas on phantom noises?
Mother (93) is very hard of hearing. She can’t sleep at night due to “muslim chanting “ coming from the woman’s room next door (assisted living). She has complained to staff but they are all pretending to not hear it according to her. Obviously this sound does not exist and it’s phantom sound her brain is creating. She is very irritated by the staff that pretends to not hear it , even though they go nextdoor and tell her to turn her radio off. My mom wants to change rooms but they made an excuse as to why that isn’t a good idea. I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to explain the phantom noise to her as she is extremely proud and will get raging mad and tell me it’s real. She has taken to getting up and beating on the cabinets with her cane to make the lady turn it off. When your brain hears real sound it stops the phantom sound temporarily which feeds into it. My biggest concern is that she’s not sleeping. Experiences or ideas friends?
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Sometimes an underlying infection or another health issue can be present in older people and go undetected until they start showing signs.
There have been people that have committed suicide because of it.
I have had a "cicada" kinda noise in my ears for about 2 or 3 years now. I sometimes hear music.
I feel sorry for your mom.
A few things that you might want to try.
Has she seen someone for this?
Sometimes flushing the ears of excess wax helps some.
I have hears (no pun intended) that there are hearing aids that can be "programed" to counter the noise that the person is hearing. But if she is hearing this at night most likely she will not be wearing hearing aids.
Have you tried a "White Noise" machine? This has helped me sometimes. The noise from the machine reduces the noise in my head.
There Can be situations whereby someone may be telling the Truth and no one believes them. You may feel better , serving as your mom's best advocate. You could try setting up the recorder at night , and even IF there is no Chanting going on, you could play it back to Mom and allow her to also hear for Herself, that she was mistaken. (And give her a big hug for me.)
After that , if you all are right -she's "Hearing" Imaginary sounds, then I agree with Anxietynancy , it may be time to consider a sedative.
At her age, does she Really need More Specialists & Testing, along with the "slew of physical problems" ? Looking into ways to keep her most comfortable within her own body may be more of what's needed. Some ideas might do the trick , listed here, or try inquiring around for ideas that could help. I wouldn't mind trying some out on myself! Other ideas, even for "normal" people , are including special lights , "weighted" blankets, or even just heating pads or old fashioned hot water bottles., or if no bath-try a good foot soak . Just some ideas among many!
That's One idea -if you can ask fellow residents if and how much they may be affected by the notices at night -(coming from your mom's room.) Perhaps , if so, they can help appeal to the Management about arriving at solutions .
I'm so sorry your mom is "hearing things". It can really drive one batty. I'm among those with a case of Tennitus , but have some control to ignore it , and I'm not aware of it until I'm in a quiet place-usually when in bed. At your mom's age , it may help to prescribe some sleeping pills?
"Quiet Hours" must be very hard to Control in a Care Center. There are many other setbacks the elderly may experience at night too, like "Sundowners Syndrome" , sleep walking, restlessness, bathroom issues, etc. to name a few.
Even among those still living at Home and among those even Much younger , sleeping problems can persist and cause exhaustion among family members.
Running the TV at night, turning on lights , and reading , or scanning the internet are what we go through when my husband is in pain. That works out okay for both of us, given my Own space to get some sleep at night. I suppose you can;t expect the staff to work over-time and help her take a nice, warm bath? Or if there's an area she can go walk it off? At best they may administer a sedative.
You might try a white noise machine or app first depending on how profound your mom’s hearing loss is. I use a sleep sounds app on my tablet. It’s free and you can help her choose sounds that appeal to her; she can even blend sounds until she finds something that masks what she’s hearing in her head. The volume can be adjusted as well. I use a blend of steady light rain and ‘a small river in Scotland’! It may take awhile to find the right sound or mix of sounds but it may do the trick and she can start getting some needed sleep.
Maybe if she hears that input, she would be both distracted and satisfied with no longer hearing what she perceives is the lady next door?
https://www.healthline.com/health/musical-ear-syndrome#takeaway
A good experiment to see if there really is noise coming from next door is to get mom some earplugs. The soft ones are particularly good for blocking sound. If she's STILL hearing this chanting after putting in the earplugs, the noise is originating in her brain, not from the next door neighbor.
If the experiment fails, get mom an appointment with an Audiologist. Hearing aids and/or certain meds may help with MES. I have very bad tinuntis in my ears and it's at its worst (loudest) when it's very quiet in the house. Earplugs make things worse for me because the noise is generating from within.
Best of luck to you.
However, you are correct in thinking that the likelihood is that there is no chanting or other noise and that this is an auditory hallucination that is exceptionally real to her. This is quite common in advanced dementias.
Your mother may need sedations. And of course given that they almost never now use rails and other devices you will be having to measure the risks of sedation and falls against her inability to sleep.
Wish that I had better ideas for you. White noise? A radio with calming music at the bedside? Discuss with the management there for THEIR ideas? Or maybe someone here with the magic answer. I surely do hope so.
Have they tried any meds for mom, if not I think it's time