Having trouble with your voice being soft or trouble swallowing?

Hi, @ethel2017 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Wondering about your journey with Parkinson's: When were you diagnosed? What have been your most challenging symptoms, and how were they treated?

Hi, Sorry took me a while to respond. June has just been a hectic month, so far. I was diagnosed with PD in 2017. I have a tremor in my fight leg. It is controlled quite well with medication. I also take meds for Dyskinesia. I am an Advocate with Parkinson Voice Project. Their mission is to- To help people with Parkinson’s and related disorders regain and retain their speech and swallowing. A very important part of everyday life.

I would like any information available about losing your voice. I was diagnosed with PD in May of this year. One of my symptoms is hoarse voice.

Hi Janet42,

I would be happy to provide you with information about SPEAK OUT! therapy provided by Parkinson Voice Project. I can mail you a brochure if you don’t mind giving me your address. 1) You can also go to their website at ParkinsonVoiceProject.org. and under Education and Training there is a great video called “What is Parkinsons”. 2) You will need to go to a Speech Language Pathologist that is trained in the SPEAK OUT! Program. At the top of the page there is a link to find a SPEAK OUT! Provider. Click on that link and then choose U.S. SPEAK OUT! Therapy and Research Centers and see if there is one in your state. If there is then there will be no charge for your treatment, which you should be able to receive either virtually or in person. If your state is not listed then choose the next choice to find a certified SPEAK OUT! Provider in your state. 3) look under Our Program and watch the testimonials. If you need help I would be happy to look up the information for you, I just need to know what state you live in. Or call Parkinson Voice Project at 469-375-6500. - Rhonda

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@janet42 My neurologist referred me for Speech Therapy - the muscles for speaking also have something to do with swallowing, and doing some of the speach therapy exercises can help both hoarseness and difficulty in swallowing.

Five years ago, one of my friends was hospitalized because of aspiration pneumonia caused by choking while eating. Since then, I have started to pay attention to how to avoid aspiration pneumonia. This will be my future research topic.
I searched online and found that learning to sing, reading articles or storybooks aloud, and regular tongue exercises (such as stretching the tongue up and down and left and right) can prevent these problems. Of course, there are many other methods......
This is my current experience, I want to share with you.

Hi - I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017. It was suggested to me that I check out a program called SPEAK OUT! It was a program developed by a nonprofit organization, called Parkinson’s Voice Project out of Dallas, Texas. I heard about it through my local support group and so I contacted them right away because I wanted to make sure that my voice and swallowing muscles were good because with Parkinson’s you can develop Aspiration pneumonia which can be deadly. So I did contact them before I developed any problems with my swallowing or speaking. Their mission is to help people with Parkinsons Disease and other neurological diseases regain and retain their voice and ability to swallow. This program is available in either 23 or 28 states, (I can’t remember for sure how many), so if you live in one of the states where you can access the program through their research and development center there is no charge. You can do the program either in person or online. You work one on one with a speech language pathologist and they will teach you the program and then get you involved in a group that’ll practice once a week. There’s also practice available online Monday through Friday every morning at 10 AM central standard time so if you go to the website Parkinson’s voiceproject.org and look up find a provider near you, you can find out if there is a research and development center for Parkinson’s Voice Project in your state. There may not be a research and development center and if that’s the case, there could still be speech pathologist that are trained in this program that you could get help from. I still participate with them every day Monday through Friday I haven’t had any trouble with my voice or swallowing, and I’m so glad that I found this program to help me. Hope this information helps you.

@show my neurologist referred me to a speech therapist. You use the muscles for speaking that you use for swallowing and the exercizes can help with both functions