Hearing Music

[bowiesmum]

My mum is 70 this year.

She's a very deep thinker and reads into things a lot for example if she starts a new medication, will read the information pack inside and out and focus so much on the side effects.

I would say she's always had health anxiety but doesn't really admit to it. She has health problems such as kidney disease and heart disease but overall is ok.

Anyway a few weeks ago she told me she hears music at night. She said with a choir or just old songs that she recognises. I asked the obvious like is it a neighbour etc , she lives in an apt block alone.

I have googled this and can be associated with hearing loss but she thinks it's the start of dementia or mental health problems.

Has anyone ever heard of this?

She has a hearing aid but won't wear it!

I have a family member who heard music and would hum along to it, when there was nothing. Unfortunately it was the first sign of dementia which progressed rapidly for her.

I hope there is another cause for your mum.

Just had a quick google as my mum who is in her 80s has mentioned this too.

Apparently ‘musical ear syndrome’ is often a side effect of hearing loss and not an indicator of dementia in itself.

My mum (70s) suffers with musical tinnitus for the past few years which comes and goes. She says its often a big brass band or random songs. She had a big band playing Mull of Kintyre for days which drove her mad. It's often worse at night. The GP can't do anything for it, could it be something like that?

Thanks all,

Yes she said about musical ear syndrome.
I forgot to mention she takes zopiclone every night for the last 30 years.

There's other concerns. She is worried about her memory but I've never seen her repeats things just a bit slow to get things or think of words etc but I think that's just normal for her age.

She is just a bit glazed over sometimes...I can't explain it

Goodness! My DD26 with severe sleep issues from ADHD PTSD is allowed 28 Zopiclone tablets a year!! 1 a fortnight when she is do sleep deprived she can't function at all.
Amazed your mum has it every night!
Hope it's a hearing thing... I'd take her to Specsavers.

I know, she is so groggy. But she won't hear a bad word said about them! If it was another medication causing her such side effects she would come off it but not her sleeping tablets!

I have tinnitus and some hearing loss. White noise in the background can sound like music, especially if I start “listening” to it as if it were music. I have been medically assessed as having no sign of dementia.

So - get her along for a NHS hearing test (in many areas carried out by Specsavers). Why is she not using her hearing aids? If she’s got high frequency loss she won’t feel deaf, she’ll her lower pitched noises as well as anyone, it’s just that people will seem to mumble around her. So is it simply that she feels they’re not doing anything, or are they uncomfortable?

If she’s worried about dementia, see the GP. The simple 10 question test will either eliminate it or they’ll suggest a fuller assessment.

The Alzheimers Society website has a comparison table of dementia related memory loss compared with normal age related memory loss.

She feels the aids irritate her with her glasses on. I'm going to have a word with her.

Do you hear music with the tinnitus?

Sorry I misread that, I get you about the white noise.

I'm not sure if she is imagining it but I'd well believe it's her mind playing tricks on her

No, the tinnitus is usually white noise. It’s if I actually hear water running or something like that, I hear it like orchestral music. It’s rather nice

Yes, I can understand. It’s a lot of work for her ears to do, especially during covid when there was a mask on there too! I find occasionally my ears feel sore, and the pain is out of all proportion to what’s actually going on.

You could try explaining

a) that loss of high frequency hearing means you can’t hear s and t etc, so you feel your hearing is fine (and it is over most of the range) but other people mumble more than they used to

b) loss of hearing is linked to dementia, because it means in social situations it’s easier to just let the conversation wash over you. So if she’s worried about dementia, it’s really important to get her hearing sorted

and possibly

c) hearing isn’t just ears, it’s a cooperation between ears and brain. The brain has to get used to noises coming from inside the ear canal, and that high frequencies are restored. So it’s important to wear aids routinely, not just when you’re going out.

My nan, who was 95 had this. She kept complaining of hearing Silent Night played all night. She has a UTI and this was a symptom, even though she didn't have any of the classic symptoms you would think of for a UTI.