Not musical, distracts others. Diagnosis is dementia but is not on medicine for that. Age is 91. Resident for ten months. Also starting to wander off and police called to find. Still mobile with walker eats well, quiet, hard of hearing when not face to face
At the ALF where my daughter works, another cheerful gentleman would walk to a nearby tavern and have a drink. No problem. Assisted Living isn't a prison. But then he began to walk further and further and kept being brought back by the police. Sigh. This fellow, too, was transferred to the secure unit for persons who wander.
inlawcaregiver, if MIL has a tendency to impulsively take off and she can't get herself back to the care center, or if she is not safe in observing traffic, etc. then an unsecured care center is simply not going to be adequate.
I think that is a bigger threat to her well-being than humming and making noises.
Think about how you feel if someone's car alarm goes off, and no one shuts it off. For some, the sound will drive you mad; others can tune it out.
So maybe Ms Crabcakes needs to fine tune her anxiety/irritability response, but will her family say "hey! Why medicate my mom for someone else's problem?"
No kidding, for three years my husband made terrible noises going up and down the stairs and when I asked what was wrong, he said, "Nothing. Why?"
He didn't realize he was making those noises!
Then he had his hip replaced and the noises stopped.