Voice

brooklynborn123

In the last six months my DW (possible stage 4) has begun to often speak in a voice that is too low for me to hear when we converse. I went and got my ears checked by the way and I am fine.😆 Anyone else experiencing this?

Quilting brings calm

Yes. My mom does this. I have to tell her to speak up. It’s as if she’s not really sure she should even be saying the words. So she’s talking ‘under her breath’.

harshedbuzz

@brooklynborn123

I have experienced this with both my parents.

With dad, who had mixed dementia, this was something we saw in late stage 6 and beyond. He remained oddly conversational until the end-of-life; the soft voice was new and seemed to betray weariness and fatigue.

My mom also does this. She does not have dementia— she developed what seemed to be a sudden onset of significant hearing loss. Instead of getting loud, as many do, she becomes a low-talker. Initially I thought I was losing my hearing until DH and DS confirmed the same. This improved greatly with hearing aids. I can tell immediately when she isn't using them for some reason.

HB

GothicGremlin

Yes, this happened with my sister, although it began much later, I'd say right around mid-stage 6. There were many times where I could barely hear her. Funny, I also got my hearing checked, and, like you, my hearing is just fine. 😄

ImMaggieMae

My husband has been whispering for over a year and a half. Very occasionally he will speak one or two words in a regular voice, but it is rare. He also doesn’t speak very much or many words at a time. He is late stage 6, maybe moving into 7. The whispering started in late stage 5 or early 6. He seems to be able to hear well.

Laurie1282

This is happening with my HWA too. Started when he was stage 4 I would guess. He is now late stage 5 and moving to 6 and besides speaking in a very soft voice, it now doesn't make any sense! This is one of my biggest frustrations. I cannot understand him and he tries so hard…

JudyVE

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/69482/voice

yes, my DH speaks so softly I can barely hear him. This started gradually. He speaks very little anymore as it is. It’s not your hearing.

Gthoma

Yes. This happens with my wife. We’re in one of those “spells” this evening. It’s difficult enough to understand the word confusion, noun substitution etc. I have to try to figure out what she SAID and then try to figure out what she MEANT.

ButterflyWings

Yes. Ditto to most of the comments above. And Gthoma, your last sentence — isn’t that the truth!

Denise1847

My DH is in late stage 5 and has been doing the low speaking with garbled words for about 6 months.

brooklynborn123

thanks everyone. Sounds like most of you experienced this at a later stage. Frankly, I really don’t know how to stage the dementia, other than to compare what I observe with what I see on the staging charts. Seems super-imprecise to me, like everything else with this condition.

ronda b

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/69482/voice

Yes. Thought I was losing my hearing.