My husband only Whispers: What can be done?

I haven’t encountered this yet. I’d message the PCP to get some insight. Maybe an assessment by a speech therapist would be beneficial. Some people with dementia related diseases become non-verbal at some point.

Good morning, @immaggiemae I'm Scott, and I saw this with both my wife and my MIL. I know every patient's journey is different, as is their disease and its progression. Likewise, I know each caregiver's situation is also unique so I only offer these observations based on our experiences.

I'm no medical professional of any kind but our neuro doctor told me with my wife it could have been from a number of factors. He mentioned that as her cognitive abilities declined, outside noise was far more distracting to her so she whispered to counteract that. He also said she might subconsciously be actually trying to save energy by whispering. He also suggested it might be a response to her world "getting smaller" as her disease progressed and she became less and less aware of outside people, influences, and needs.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Strength, Courage, & Peace

immaggiemae,
My husband is in what his neurologist called the moderate stage of Alzheimer's. He often mumbles his words. I spend a lot of time asking if he could repeat words because it is sometimes difficult to understand what he is saying. He hasn't had trouble swallowing yet but I have read that this can happen with advanced Alzheimer's.
Sorry, but I don't know of a medicine that can help alleviate this but maybe someone else on this site does.

My wife has been mumbling for about a year now. She is struggling to find words more. She will start to say something then just trail off. Interestingly she talks just fine in her sleep when she dreams. I think it might be a confidence thing or an awareness issue. Lately she struggles with opening the car door and fastening the seat belt. If she thinks about it she vapor locks much like if your hands are full and you are walking down stairs you are fine until you think about it. Same with her if she just operates on autopilot she can open the door, talk, buckle up the seat belt etc. I think she might have what we call in golf paralysis by analysis. Having to think about things that used to be autopilot seems to cause delays in execution.

Bill, my husband does struggle to find words often, but this is different. It’s whispering most of the time. Curiously, when he meets someone in person he will often talk out loud. Also, on the phone he will usually speak out loud for most of the conversation. But I have to ask him to repeat things over and over sometimes because I can’t hear him.

My husband whispers as well. His voice has gotten very soft in general and he often speaks in unrelated syllables, but the whispering is new. We live alone but recently had company for three weeks and I think part of his whispering is an attempt at privacy, fearing that he will be overheard. When I assure him that w e are alone he seems to understand that, but is not always able to stop whispering. He just doesn’t seem to have control over his volume some times.
This disease, Lewy body dementia, brings new challenges for us both.

Hi . My husband does the same whispers only to me. When talking to everyone else and in his sleep he talks just fine normally. If I ask him to repeat or speak up he says he cannot. If I ignore him when he whispers he will then talk in normal vouce saying ' didnt you hear me ?' Upsetting and infuriating ..sorry

@terrinan - I am so sorry to read about your situation. No need to apologize - I can imagine how terribly frustrating it is.

Not sure I can offer any solution/s, but I did experience this in my father's later years, and in our family's case, I believe it was more about "selective hearing" on his part (when he'd always ask any of us, immediately, to repeat what we just said), and then he would talk in a reduced volume. He reluctantly got hearing aids in his later years, too, but it didn't improve his hearing, as far as I saw and experienced it; same for my mother, who would reply with sighs to his never being "tuned in". This may well not apply to your situation, but I sadly believe, and experienced, that it was a passive/aggressive way to control the environment around him. Nothing new in our family dynamic most of my life.

I know you're not writing about hearing, but in the interest of offering up other experiences, I wonder if physical hearing impairment plays any part in this? And not saying there is anything more in your dynamic than what you've shared, just hoping it might be of some help along the way.

It is very challenging.

@brandysparks . Thank you so much for your comments and help. I am new to this help and support page. I agree with the selective hearing thought. And selective speaking. Tonight he started whispering to me then all of a sudden oh ! He spoke normal to my son whom he wanted to go cranky at !

Thank you everyone for listening and your support. It does mean a lot. It does seem like I am alone a lot.
But with your kind words and hugs it helps.x