Causes of adult speech impairment

• stroke.
• traumatic brain injury.
• degenerative neurological or motor disorder.
• injury or illness that affects your vocal cords.
• dementia.

Why do elderly lose ability to speak?

Seniors may lose their ability to talk or understand language—a condition known as aphasia —due to ailments like stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or brain injury. There are many types of aphasia and the severity of symptoms varies from person to person.

What causes sudden inability speaking?

It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written. Aphasia typically occurs suddenly after a stroke or a head injury. But it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative).

What are the three basic types of speech impairments?

There are three general categories of speech impairment:

• Fluency disorder. This type can be described as an unusual repetition of sounds or rhythm.
• Voice disorder. A voice disorder means you have an atypical tone of voice.
• Articulation disorder. If you have an articulation disorder, you might distort certain sounds.

What diseases cause speech problems?

Common conditions that can lead to speech disorders are:

• autism.
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• strokes.
• oral cancer.
• laryngeal cancer.
• Huntington’s disease.
• dementia.
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

What causes older people to mumble?

Slurred speech, or dysarthria, is a common disorder that affects much of the elderly population. The condition occurs when the muscles of the mouth, face and throat become weakened and stop working properly. As people age, they begin to lose muscle mass all over their body.

What causes mumbling speech?

Common causes of speech disorders include alcohol or drug poisoning, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular disorders that often cause slurred speech include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease.

What medications cause speech problems?

Some medications that affect the brain or nervous system, or muscles of speech, may result in dysarthria as a side effect. Some specific drugs that have been associated with dysarthria include:

• Carbamazepine.
• Irinotecan.
• Lithium.
• Onabotulinum toxin A (Botox)
• Phenytoin.
• Trifluoperazine.

What neurological disorders cause speech problems?

The following neurologic disorders can have voice disorders included in the disease progression:

• ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• Myasthenia gravis.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Parkinson’s disease.
• Essential tremor.
• Spasmodic dysphonia.

What causes loss of words?

Aphasia results from damage to one or more of the areas of the brain responsible for language. Aphasia can occur suddenly, such as after a stroke (most common cause) or head injury or brain surgery, or may develop more slowly, as the result of a brain tumor, brain infection or neurological disorder such as dementia.

What is cluttering in speech?

Cluttering involves speech that sounds rapid, unclear and/or disorganized. The listener may hear excessive breaks in the normal flow of speech that sound like disorganized speech planning, talking too fast or in spurts, or simply being unsure of what one wants to say.

What are examples of speech disorders?

10 Common Types of Speech Disorders

1. Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
2. Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders.
3. Speech Sound Disorders/Articulation Disorders.
4. Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders.
5. Receptive Disorders.
6. Autism-Related Speech Disorders.
7. Resonance Disorders.
8. Selective Mutism.

Can stress cause speech problems?

Feeling Tired or Stressed And when you’re worried about being judged by others or feel embarrassed, you may freeze up or struggle to talk. Anxiety, especially if it crops up when you’re in front of a lot of people, can lead to dry mouth, stumbling over your words, and more troubles that can get in the way of speaking.

Can high blood pressure cause speech problems?

High blood pressure, heart attacks, exhaustion, concussions, and other brain injuries can all affect the brain. These effects on the brain create malfunctions, which may be what is causing a sudden change in speech.

What is the medical term for difficulty speaking?

Dysarthria is difficulty speaking caused by brain damage or brain changes later in life.

Why is my speaking getting worse?

If you experience a sudden onset of impaired speech, seek medical attention right away. It might be a sign of a potentially life-threatening condition, such as a stroke. If you develop impaired speech more gradually, make an appointment with your doctor. It may be a sign of an underlying health condition.