My 88 year-old mother, who is almost completely deaf, has been hearing things that are not there for some time. She has cats, and she constantly hears them "crying" or "screaming" when in fact, they're not. In the past two weeks, she has begun to hear blaring music and people's voices. She has also "seen" people who are not there. She has called the local police twice, once for "music that was coming from everywhere at once" and the second time for voices of people who were not there in the early hours of the morning. She just came home from a short hospital stay for tests for low blood hemoglobin (7.5) and breathlessness. Catscan of brain revealed nothing abnormal. Endoscopy revealed bleeding ulcers, for which she was given meds. While she was in the hospital, she still heard cats, and had music playing in her head, but at a sound level which was not bothersome. No strange voices, no visual hallucinations. She came home yesterday, and last night again began to hear voices and called the police again in the early morning hours. My late brother's girlfriend "J" lives in the upstairs apartment, but mostly keeps to herself. My mother is convinced that she has two or three other people living with her, and that they are calling animal control and the police on her. I've checked, the police have checked - there are no other people there. She's convinced she has seen something as bizarre as "J"'s mother having her diaper changed on the basement stairs. When I visit, she asks me several time a day if I hear the cats, and when I say no, she says I choose not to hear them, or that she has super hearing and can hear things others can't. It's only been 2 weeks of this behavior, and I'm at my wits' end. I'm on meds for anxiety and depression myself. I have a full-time job, and am having difficulty concentrating on my work and interacting with people. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
CAT scans often do not reveal abnormalities early on in dementia. It may have shown that she didn't have a stroke, but if the symptoms remain, she needs further tests.
Get her admitted, not " observation". If she's in the hospital for 3 midnights, she'll be eligible for rehab, covered by Medicare.
If they try to discharge her, make sure they know she is home alone and there is no one available to care for her.
A CAT scan can be very useful. but a normal CAT does not rule out dementia.