Vedanta Speech & Hearing Healthcare

Vedanta Speech & Hearing Healthcare

Leading Pediatric & Adult Hearing and Speech Therapy Healthcare

Common Speech and Language Issues after TBI

Dysarthria: Weakness or poor coordination of the muscles used in speaking, resulting in slurred or slow speech.
Dysarthria is speech that is characteristically slurred, slow, and difficult to understand. A person with dysarthria may also have problems controlling the pitch, loudness, rhythm, and voice qualities of his or her speech because there is impairment with the mouth’s muscle movements. Muscles can move too far, move in the wrong direction, move with too much or too little strength, move with poor timing, or not move to the target. The result is that speech can be challenging to understand, unnatural, and imprecise.
Dysarthria can be caused by stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Myasthenia Gravis (MG), Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, and other conditions.

Apraxia of Speech: Difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed for speech.
Acquired Apraxia of Speech occurs when messages from the brain to the mouth are disrupted due to damage to the brain’s parts that control coordinated muscle movement. When a person cannot control the muscles used to form words, the lips or tongue will not make letter sounds correct. Unlike dysarthria, the strength of the mouth muscles is not affected; however, controlling and coordinating the movements is challenging in apraxia of speech. Apraxia makes it hard to initiate and sequence the sounds that make words. The severity of apraxia can range from mild to severe. Individuals often indicate that they know what they want to say, but they cannot say it. Someone with severe apraxia of speech may be unable to make any sounds or words at all. Individuals who have apraxia of speech may also have aphasia and dysarthria. Apraxia of speech can be caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), dementia, brain tumors, and progressive neurological disorders.

Aphasia: Problems with understanding or producing language, either spoken or written.
Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting speaking and understanding language and/or the ability to read or write. Aphasia symptoms vary in degrees of severity, depending on factors such as the injury’s location and the size of the damage to the brain. A person with aphasia may have difficulty finding words (“anomia”). Other signs and symptoms include putting words in the wrong order, requiring extra time to process spoken messages, having difficulty writing or copying letters or words, or having difficulty reading and understanding written material. According to the National Aphasia Association, the most common cause of aphasia is stroke (about 25-40% of stroke survivors acquire aphasia). It can also result from a head injury, brain tumor, or other neurological causes.

Cognitive-communication disorders: Difficulties with attention, memory, problem-solving, and organizing thoughts that affect effective communication.

Voice changes: Weak, hoarse, or breathy voice due to nerve or muscle damage.

Hearing-Related Issues after TBI

Auditory Processing Disorders: Difficulty interpreting sounds, especially speech in noisy environments, even if hearing sensitivity is normal.

Hearing Loss: Sometimes caused by damage to the auditory nerves or ear structures during injury.

Tinnitus: Ringing or buzzing sounds in the ears that can be a side effect of TBI.

Role of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Audiologists

Assessment: Evaluate speech, language, cognition, and hearing functions.

Rehabilitation: Design individualized therapy plans targeting speech clarity, language skills, memory strategies, and auditory processing.

Assistive Devices: Recommend hearing aids, communication aids, or other technologies if needed.

Counseling: Support patients and families to understand the challenges and strategies for communication.

Easy Steps To Get Our Services

Don’t Wonder If You Or Your Loved Ones Have Hearing Loss Or Speech Disorder; Find Out For Sure With Advanced Tests. Vedanta Speech And Hearing Healthcare Is Ready To Help You Or Your Loved One To Live Better. It All Starts With An Honest Conversation About Your Hearing Loss or Speech Disorder And a Test.