She says she thinks its a man who came months ago to do some work around the house and she believes he brings his ladder and gets in through a window since he does not ring the bell or come to the door. He just walks around the second floor of her home. Are auditory hallucinations a symptom of dementia?
At close to 90 her mind is away with the fairies. She keeps trying to get out of bed or her wheelchair by herself and falls ... just this last week she was taken to the ER and ended up with a black eye and 8 stitches above that eye. Alarm on her bed but by the time it goes off she's on the floor. One or two more falls, banging her head, after numerous strokes, it will be the end of her. Wonderful though the staff are, there's nothing that can be done.
My mom also insisted that various workers were coming into her home, through a "secret stairwell" in her bedroom closet. Mom also sees "schoolchildren skipping in the living room," and "brown-spotted mice in the kitchen."
Mom would get very upset if we would tell her she was dreaming or hallucinating. So now, instead, we say, "I swept out the kitchen mice with a broom, and called the exterminator!" or "I just double-checked the bedroom closet with my 'MagLight'...everything has been locked and boarded up for the night."
Mom's neurologist did talk to her at some length, to make sure her hallucinations were not scary ones.
One has to adjust to the patient's new reality, as they will never, sadly, be coming back to ours.
"Dave Mainwaring's Knowledge Network" )
Sunrise Syndrome,(sun?riz) a condition in which a person with Alzheimer's wakes up rising in the morning and their mind is filled with delusions which include include beliefs about theft, the patient's house not being their home, a spouse is an impostor, belief an intruder is in the house, abandonment, spousal and paranoia, people eavesdropping. Sometimes the person may carry over content of a dream.
AND Call her MD and ask about testing Something has gone wrong and you need to know what.
Dementia can include auditory hallucinations. If that's what this is and this doesn't disturb her it is not necessary to treat it.
It may also be a misinterpretation of real noises. Something in my kitchen makes a noise a lot like the door opening from the garage. I've often expected it to be followed by one of my borders coming in, but I've learned that it is the fridge recycling (or something). She may be hearing real noises and just guessing wrong about what they are.
But do discuss it with her doctor. It could be something else. Better safe than sorry.
If it is an hallucination due to dementia, you can discuss it with her doctor. She may not be able to live alone anymore and she may want to treat it with medications. Although the present hallucination does not disturb her, others could and it could be very distressful for her. I would anticipate this before it happens.