This is a surprisingly debilitating condition. No voice volume. Slurred speech. No one can hear me. Some have tried reading my lips when they are visible. It's pervasive. No one can hear me except some on the phone. I"m clear until I hit the 1200 mg amount of sinemet. Then it's stammering, mumbling, and I cannot be heard.

Does anyone know if there is an app to use on your cell phone that is like a portable mic to amplify our voice? not to record but to project like a portable mic people use for public speeches?

This is the most devastating social symptom so far. No Silverman recommendations please. I was once a speech pathologist. This isn't going away. i need adaptive equipment that is in my cell phone.

Paula,
I have not posted in quite a while, but I just had to respond somehow to you, although I have little to offer as a solution.
Have you tried backing off on sinemet? Does lying down offer any improvement (while prone)?
How long has this been an acute problem?

D**n Parkinson's anyway!

Robert

didn't harley have a similar problem and dr. giroux at both gardner center fixed by changing meds?

Paula,

I'd say too much levodopa too. I swear it is a constant trade off. Having to live this truly does suck.

Iphone gets the edge here. I did a quick search for voice amplification in my android market and Loud Speaker came up at .99 with a one star review.

Honestly, I don't know a cell phone app could work without a speaker. The only thing I have seen that is super small is the Spokeman or ChattVox personal voice amplifiier system. A collar mic is most unobtrusive.


Laura

If not a med issue or you can't find a cell app.
Maybe some of the assistive devices websites might have something that will work?

here's a few -

http://www.voiceaerobicsdvd.com/voice_amplifier

http://www.soundbytes.com/Merchant2/...ice-amplifiers

http://www.independentliving.com/pro...e%20Amplifiers

http://www.hearmore.com/categories/1...mplifiers.html


I didn't see anything related to products on Fox's PD site....
Maybe some of the other PD sites might have links to good products & reputable sites??

If not they should add them, so PD patients & family members can locate good products easily when the need arises..

If you find a good product/site it can be added to the sticky thread here too.

Paula,
http://www.dinodirect.com/microphone...waistband-tour

http://www.allegromedical.com//daily...oice-amplifier

These devices might be useful.

Girija

I was hoping Tequila would fix that.
Is it all the time like this, or does it come and go?
Did it come on suddenly?
My speech is often slurred and people really do not understand what I am saying - and the Nuance Dragon software for voice recognition does not recognize me at all and does not recognize my words.
But this is when I am "Off" (I hate that concept); when I "On" I can talk as much as ever, which some people regret.

Seems none of the orgs. have a "consumer's report" for things we would actually use.

The part about getting more socially isolated is very true and serious. It is not really voluntary. We shy away, but we also get kicked out.

Paula, do not stop communicating. Carrier pigeons taking messages, smoke signals, banging on a drum, PowerPoint presentations, body language, setting off fireworks, - communicate, communicate, communicate. Do not let this evil disease make you shut up. Looking back at all your posts here, it is clear that nothing can take away your exceptionally expressive freedom of speech.
Field Commander Paula will not be silenced. Get that woman a bull-horn and some really massive speakers.

...and open my mouth and utter like my Cerebral palsy students who had breathing and volume issues "atemsubb" and everyone in the room says "what"? again i say louder....I.I ....said " attention ". They all then come closer, step in or lean in where I wonder what i smell like and explain, "i can't hear you." i repeat with my hands cupping my mouth and stammer out "attention!' they respond "OHHH"

Then i have to say i have pd but they can't hear me. i admire the people who are patient with me. There are compassionate people and clueless people about disabilities but speech is turning out to be the biggest one of all.

Thanks to Jo+Mar and girija for the links. There is plenty out there and I will check it all out. I thought the cell phone would be the most convenient and not require earphones. I don't write software. Does anyone think this could work? could this forum pitch in and leave a very user friendly cell phone app as it's legacy? Laura it would be very worth it for future use, right now your voice is beautiful.

soccertese, i must have missed harley's post. if it involves something to adapt please let me know or harley if you are reading please send the link. I'm at the opposite corner of the country.

Robert, i double your curse of this illness. You all inspire me and keep me sane. I don't know how to lower the sinemet but, as everyone else, feel it's damage . PDF announced they are starting a study on norepinephrine. I hope they recognize the urgency of this and all neurotransmitters to be studied intensely.

Or it might go ten years and stop there. actually tho, the agenda is focused on social networking and the pd community. it took them long enough to realize but i'm not criticizing..... oh hell yes i am and very disturbed about how the research dollars are used.

carrier pigeon huh? are they expensive?

Hi Paula,
So sorry you are starting with voice problems.
Mohamed Ali has lost his voice now and uses a hand held text apparatus for communicating with small groups of people. For larger groups, isn't there a way to turn a laptop into amplifying your voice? I have done it with my desktop PC.
Ron

Paula said:
"I was once a speech pathologist. This isn't going away."
Paula, Did you get a second opinion on that?
Has it been awhile since you were on the other side of the speech pathology divide, helping others for what you yourself now need help with? Maybe there has been new research.

Does anybody out there know?
The devices and apps, yes, but also it would be good to have someone with an overview of speech research and where it is headed.

If there has been any new information or research, it is unlikely to be coming from anything to do with Parkinson's, as speech therapy, for example, would not involve pharmaceuticals, and Parkinson's is still widely defined as a chemical problem requiring a chemical solution, which does not involve the patient beyond swallowing the pills.

But perhaps outside of the Parkinson's game where we all have to chase-our-tails-in-circles, there may have been advances in speech pathology that we have not heard about, because we only find out about Parkinson's.

Is there anyone out there who has a wide awareness of what is going on in the field of speech pathology or therapy? Someone able to say, this worked, this didn't; the research is now looking at what? Especially outside of the Parkinson's Reservation. Is there some other tribe who have found ways to keep on talking? Or is it something that, as Paula says, just ain't going away.