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The Voice Loss Nobody Warns You About | Parkinson's

Doing Life Today

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Parkinson’s changed my voice long before I understood what was happening.
People asked if I was tired… distracted… even drunk.
But what was really happening was something nobody warned me about:

👉 Parkinson’s was slowly stealing my ability to speak.

In today’s episode, I’m breaking down the five hidden ways Parkinson’s affects your voice - and the exact steps you can take to fight back.

You’ll learn:
• Why your voice gets softer (hypophonia)
• Why words start sounding slurred
• Why you trail off mid-sentence
• Why your speech speeds up or stutters
• Why your voice almost disappears during off times
• The therapy that helped me get my voice back (LSVT LOUD)
• The daily exercises I STILL do every morning
• How medication timing affects speech
• Technology tools that make conversations easier
• Carmen’s Care Partner Corner - her tips for reducing frustration
• Solo Spotlight - strategies if you’re doing this without a care partner

These are the tools that helped me reclaim my voice - and they can help you too.
LSVT LOUD: https://www.lsvtglobal.com/
👇 Tell me in the comments: which voice change have YOU noticed the most?

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📺 Watch all episodes
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⏱ CHAPTERS & TIMESTAMPS
00:00 | The Symptom Nobody Warned Me About
00:56 | Welcome + Why This Matters
01:34 | Why Parkinson’s Steals Your Voice
02:35 | Apathy vs Ability To Speak
02:58 | Voice Change #1 - Quiet/Soft Speech (Hypophonia)
03:50 | Voice Change #2 - Slurred or Mushy Words
04:33 | Voice Change #3 - Trailing Off Mid-Sentence
05:18 | Voice Change #4 - Rushed or Stuttered Speech
06:23 | Voice Change #5 - Losing Your Voice Completely
07:37 | Which Of These Hit You The Hardest?
07:55 | What Actually Helps - LSVT LOUD
09:35 | Daily Voice Exercises That Work
11:53 | Medication Timing + Tools That Help
13:30 | Carmen’s Care Partner Corner
15:28 | Solo Strategies If You Don’t Have a Care Partner
17:27 | Fighting Back Against Voice Loss
18:10 | Today’s Bryce-ism

❓Have any questions or want to share your Parkinson's journey? Drop a comment below! 👇

📌 More Resources & Ways to Stay Connected:
🎥 Watch Episode 1 – https://youtube.com/live/-xC2odBnN08
📌 Subscribe for More Content – https://bit.ly/3262ymG
👀ALL Living with Parkinson's Podcast Here: https://bit.ly/4h27D3y

⚠️ Important Note
This is my personal Parkinson's medication journey-what works for me may not work for everyone. Parkinson's is different for each person, and medication plans should always be tailored to individual needs. Before making any changes to your medication or treatment, consult with your doctor or healthcare provider.

This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission.
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20 Comments

@doinglifetoday Creator 9 months ago Pinned

👇 Tell me in the comments: which voice change hits you the hardest?
Your story might help someone else feel seen.

If this video helps you at all, make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss future episodes. We’re building something real here.

For deeper support and real community conversations, come join us inside the Inner Circle:
https://community.dolifetoday.com/pages/inner-circle

Newly diagnosed and don’t know where to start?
Try my free Boot Camp:
https://community.dolifetoday.com/pages/so-you-got-parkinsons-now-what

Keep Doing Life Today. 💛

@georgiabeatty9917 1 day ago

I have a double problem with this aspect of PD: taking a deeper breath to project my voice, and trying to avoid drooling while my mouth is open..

@brianwhite8185 6 months ago

The whole concept of my voice being soft and getting softer is hard for me to swallow. As an elementary teacher I spent years teaching kids to use their "inside" voices. I have always felt that loud voices are obnoxious. It astounds and irritates me when I see and hear someone fifty feet away shouting into their cellphone. I have always thought that a well-modulated voice was a positive personality trait!
I don't know how I learned the idea that my voice should travel no significant distance beyond the person I am speaking to. If I'm talking with someone in the same room, say 8 feet away, why on earth would I want anyone in the next room, twenty-five feet away to hear me?
Where this issue is most problematic when I need to communicate inside a noisy restaurant, or in a drive through fast food lane. When they tell me to speak up, I can't make myself heard. I will have someone else order for me.
In a very quiet room. say a therapist's office, I have no trouble hearing and being heard. In a room with any kind of background noise, I am more often accused of being both hard to hear and hard of hearing.

@mnhabibe 9 months ago

I have advanced, early onset Parkinson’s, and have been dealing with this for over 11 years. My voice was starting to get significantly worse about five years ago. After I underwent DBS 2 years and a half ago, I started to speak out therapy with Parkinson Voice Project. I now have a voice that is better than my pre-Parkinson’s voice. Most people don’t even think I have Parkinson’s when I talk. I don’t have to time speaking as much during off periods. The principle behind the speak out therapy is also helping me walk better, even during off times. Furthermore, Parkinson Voice Project is a nonprofit, and the teaching can be taken anywhere and done by video on a daily basis, which is what I do. I’m an emergency/urgent care physician and I can still practicein most settings and not have patients know that I have any problem with my speech.

The speak out therapy from Parkinson Voice Project has literally become one of the most important parts of my treatment, next to medication, exercise, and nutrition. It is something positive that I can do every day, and I would not be mobile and functioning independently if it was not for that fantastic organization.

@MonicaKasselman 9 months ago

My brother in law is 36 and was diagnosed about 2 years ago. This is so insightfull. Its always so sad how people whose not informed treats him like he's 'stupid' or gets fustrated, as if its something he can control. Is there maybe a group he can join? We are here for him, but honestly, I dont think one truly understands what he's going through if you dont go through it yourself. Especially at such a young age.

@bobmcgee1849 3 months ago

Went to speech therapist to see if my muffled voice is something I can do. After many exercises where my voice volume was measured she gave me homework. On the sheet in large capitol letters she printed THINK LOUD!!!

@RiittaHyväkkä 7 months ago

I sang in a choir, which had an exellent leader exercising our voices before singing. Despite of good rehearsing I couldn't produce high notes. Instead I sounded coarse. I got PD confirmed last December and has got levodopa. Now I can reach high pitch without difficulties. My conclusion is that my difficulties reaching high pitches might have been my first symptoms of PD. I am 66 years old female.

@jerrybeck3595 9 months ago

Yes! It’s like laryngitis!!!

@sarahz9670 8 months ago

I struggle with having to repeat myself, louder of course, cuz people can't hear me. Speech therapy worked for about 2 years.

@rjbranger 9 months ago

The voice symptom hit me the hardest. It still comes out if I get anxious. The "SPEAK OUT" program helped a ton. Must practice about 20 minutes per day. Great video!

@katherinePawson 1 month ago (edited)

Bryce you have done a great job explaining the "Voice Enigma" . Early on in my journey through Parkinson's I too experienced ALL the voice problems you mentioned. Confusion, anger and total frustration was all I could feel...no matter the dopamine situation. The first year passed with no improvement, the second year I was introduced to a speech therapist at St Luke's in Spokane -I was shocked to know that learning to talk again was so hard. Three years have passed and I can say the "voice does return at a very slow pace but now it was like it never happened. The subject of swallowing is the next chapter...don't choke is the mantra...please cover that problem.

@CarolHawbaker-k7o 2 days ago

My friends that see me on a regular basis realize that my voice is getting worse and it’s becoming harder for them to hear me and they work with me but it was so gradual that it is just a part of who I am but the friends that haven’t seen me in like 6 months that’s how fast my voice changed that when I saw a particular friend that I’ve known my whole life he thought that I had the beginnings of dementia or Alzheimer’s and he was talking to me like I didn’t know what was going on and he wouldn’t make plans to do things and I saw this video and I sent it to him and I told him to please watch and it really made him understand and he has remained in touch and I even got him to join a fantasy football league with me and so I sent this video to all my friends and it really helped the ones actually watch i can tell the ones I didn’t watch because they are constantly asking me if I need a ride to or if everything is alright and I know it’s because they care thanks for all your videos it has really helped me and my wife maneuver this horrible disorder ❤️

@HarborFineArt 9 months ago

Before my actual diagnosis I had slurred speech for about a week. I went to out patient several times thinking I was having a stroke. They were baffled but knew it wasn’t a stroke. I was diagnosed about a year later. Thank you for what you do. I’ve learned more than from my doctors. ❤

@auntsally2704 9 months ago (edited)

😮me too struggle with voice exercises and apathy but singing helps.. ha ha only with my favorite artists songs. Ha ha some people may say that my voice is better lived unused first thing anyway but for me I need it. Thanks again for all you’re doing. I can’t tell you the impact you’ve made on my spirit lately. It’s amazing.

@professorRodex 9 months ago

Well for me, number four & number five are the latest items that have been added to my grocery list of issues with this PD. For me it's been very hard dealing with my voice going very soft and then freezing up when I'm talking I panicked myself and and I scared the living, but Jesus out of my wife thought I was probably having a stroke! I'm going to begin LSVT shortly between Christmas and New Year's, and I am looking forward to it!

@bernier-km5ug 9 months ago

Thx so much for all this encouragement. I had given up bless you

@GMGonthefarm 6 months ago

Thank you Carmen!

@patrickmcginnis7028 9 months ago

As a career-long salesman, occasional radio voice, and semi-pro emcee, my speech changes have been hard to accept. Thanks for giving me a resource that I can show to family and friends to give credence to my symptoms. Thanks again for exercises and resources.