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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?

This phenomenon can be Musical Ear Syndrome caused when hearing loss is present. The following is a link to an article discussing MES in depth.

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.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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It sounds like your mom is experiencing a type of hallucinations, like but instead of seeing, she is hearing, I'm not sure the medical term for it

Have they tried any meds for mom, if not I think it's time
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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Try to get a referral from her PCP for a neurology eval. Neurology may schedule a 3 hour verbal exam to find a possible diagnoses. Get a diagnoses, then they can give an appropriate prescription.
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Reply to jwellsy
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She may be hearing "SOMEthing". Does she tell staff when she is hearing this? Some machinery can sound a bit like a compressor that is sort of rhythmic.
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.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Sorrynotsorry Nov 2, 2024
She does not have dementia. She has severe hearing loss . She is very bright mentally but can’t hear very well, see very well and has a slew of physical issues. As I stated above , she has told the staff but believes they are lying to her that they don’t hear it.
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