Voice
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?
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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’.
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@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.
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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. 😄
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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Yes. Ditto to most of the comments above. And Gthoma, your last sentence — isn’t that the truth!
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My DH is in late stage 5 and has been doing the low speaking with garbled words for about 6 months.
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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.
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Yes. Thought I was losing my hearing.
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Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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