Mom is hearing music that does not exist

Any downside to agreeing with her? Delusions don’t easily go away when the truth is explained. What if you say the neighbors have children who enjoy the music and the only option is to move? Does her doctor believe any medication might help?

Musical hallucinations are not uncommon, according to Oliver Sacks in his book "Musicophilia".

I had them myself for years; I would hear a choir singing early every morning. The experience was more amusing than anything else.

However, for someone with dementia, I can see how this would be distressing.

Does your mother find the music upsetting? Mildly annoying? Do the hallucinations persist, or are they of short duration? Any chance you can just humor her?

@nhbfan I'm in agreement with @celia16 that these delusions and hallucinations don't go away and it's best to agree with your mom that the music is present and then discuss what to do. I rather like @celia's recommendation that the children next door enjoy the music and you can ask them to turn it down. I've had similar experiences with my relatives and found it works best to participate in the loved one's reality such as what kind of music is it?, discuss music your mother has enjoyed in the past. Unless the delusion or hallucination is a safety issue and I'm guessing your mom hearing music that isn't present doesn't fall into the safety category, perhaps you can figure out how to make this an opportunity to discuss and interact with your mom?

@nhbfan I sympathise with both you and your mum! I suddenly started experiencing MES every night when lying down in bed before going to sleep while I was undergoing chemo and immunotherapy. It just started. Lawdy lawdy lawdy indeed!! The music started off being big band (not something I listen to!) Not unpleasant but weird. I looked it up and was able to just lean into it knowing I wasn’t going crazy. The type of music would also change - sometimes country and sometimes discordant interpretative slow tunes (again not genres I listen to). Suddenly one day I realised it had gone but couldn’t pin point when. It hasn’t come back and I’m no longer on those medications.

I take it your mother isn’t able to comprehend the condition. Can you perhaps speak with her doctor to see if there’s a possibility one of the medications she’s on might be causing it and something else might be used instead?
https://tinnitus.org.uk/understanding-tinnitus/what-is-tinnitus/types-of-tinnitus/musical-hallucination-musical-tinnitus/

My wife's diagnosis is MCI (7 years, slowly progressive) and she has had deja vu prominently for several years now. She does understand what deja vu is, and I just tell her that I know it is "real" to her. It distresses her. She also had some visual hallucinations a year or two back, but they related to a new medication and went away when the dose was adjusted.

I know someone, mid-80's years old, who developed this all of a sudden. They heard loud opera singing coming from a nearby apartment, particularly at night. The music wasn't coming from another apartment. They were prescribed I believe an anti-psychotic medication and it went away. I forget what the condition was called but it had to do with the brain, not the ear.

I love your sense of humor! Hugs!

She's just now coming around to considering Musical Ear Syndrome (MES) as a possible culprit although she hasn't agreed to treatment yet.

She still believes there's a small chance the music is coming from the neighbors.

My mom at first heard hymns. Now, she hears people talking. She is almost deaf but still hears these sounds. When she first started hearing old hymns, she thought a radio was on. Then, when she had a hearing aid tune-up, he explained that the brain makes up the sounds. She also has macular degeneration and sees images, her eye doctor told her that the brain creates these images to avoid a void.

She is 92 and mostly understands that it is coming from her brain. Hopefully, she continues to understand. Sometimes, she asks if I can hear it and is amazed that I can't.

On the morning of my mother-in-law's last day on the planet, she was hearing some enjoyable music no one else could hear. I told her to enjoy it. She passed in the early evening.

/LarryG