Why Does Your Elderly Parent Make Weird Noises?


Casual grunts and occasional sighs are to be expected from your parents as they age. But sometimes, they make noises that even you find a bit too strange. Whether it’s lip-smacking being done too repetitively, loud moans, or throat clearing being done too loudly, as a loving child, these unnatural noises might worry you. 

Your parent likely makes weird noises due to neurodegenerative disorders.  Involuntary sounds are created because these disorders compromise muscle control. The disorders also cause inner urges that make your parent anxious and agitated. To soothe these feelings, your parent makes noise.

In this article, I will go over what exactly counts as a “weird” noise and discuss the particular issue in the brain that leads them to behave the way they do. I will also discuss some remedy and relief options that could work best for your parents. 

Understanding Your Parents’ Weird Noises 

Our ability to create sound is controlled by a multitude of muscles. These range from the laryngeal and respiratory muscles on our throats to the cheek and jaw muscles on our faces. A more detailed explanation of the processes behind your parent’s strange behavior will depend on the exact type of noise they make. 

But first, let’s discuss what classifies a noise as being weird.

What Makes Noises Weird

Generally, the range of sounds our species make can be classified into three categories:

  • Under the first category is our vocalization of words to express ourselves. In other words, talking. 
  • In the second category are the sounds we make due to our body’s physiological response to stimuli, such as sneezing or burping. 
  • Lastly are the emotionally-driven sounds we make, such as our sobbing, chuckling, and even groaning. 

If you believe that the sounds your Ma or Pa is making are not justified by any appropriate social, physiological, or emotional stimuli, it would be fair to say that these sounds are weird. 

Now, let’s dive into the most common “weird” noises seniors make.

Palilalia

If, for example, you keep hearing your parents repeatedly utter the same word they have just said, they may be dealing with a speech disorder known as palilalia. This disorder has no accepted cause yet, but it is closely linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Pick’s.

It is believed that in palilalia, the brain fails to instruct the muscles involved in talking to utter what the brain itself planned to say; hence a word is repeated. 

Repeated Physiological Sounds

On the other hand, if you keep finding your Ma or Pa repetitively coughing, sneezing, or clearing their throat for no reason, they may be affected by the same types of neurodegenerative diseases that cause palilalia. What makes this different, however, is the brain now has a disconnect with the respiratory muscles as opposed to palilalia, where the disconnect is with the laryngeal muscles. 

True enough, sudden and repetitive grunting was observed in a patient with Huntington’s disease, as documented by a study on involuntary vocalizations. This study also collected testimonies from patients who claimed to experience anxiety-causing urges before making strange sounds. This leads some to believe that the vocalizations are part of the elderly’s efforts to soothe the anxiety and agitation that come with the urges

Repeated Emotional Sounds

Lastly, if your parent is prone to contextless laughing, muttering, and groaning, it could be due to frontal lobe damage that leads to serious interruption within the brain’s circuits. Although these behaviors may seem childish, they may have a physiological reason. Why Do Elderly Parents Sometimes Behave Like Children?

Taking laughing as an example, this complex behavior involves the coordination of several critical areas of the brain. While laughing itself remains understudied, the mechanisms that both execute and regulate its expression are believed to heavily involve networks within the frontal and temporal regions. 

If neurodegenerative diseases such as primary progressive aphasia interrupt these networks, it becomes likely for the affected elder to either laugh strangely, laugh exaggeratedly, or laugh repetitively since the executing and regulating mechanisms are compromised. 

Remedy and Relief Options 

I know that reading all these can be a bit overwhelming, and I know you may feel hopeless, but don’t worry; many options are available for your loved one. Several techniques have been shown to ease vocalization symptoms among the affected elderly. 

Habit Reversal Training

If you are looking for some nursing homes that could accommodate your parent, you may want to consider their caregivers’ ability to conduct habit reversal training (HRT)

In HRT, caregivers are first expected to inform your parent of their disruptive and repetitive vocalizations. Once this is made known, the caregiver would then instruct your parent to acknowledge when these vocalizations occur. This would then be capped with a proper response mechanism against the urges that lead them to create strange noises. 

HRT may be complemented by redirection techniques that ask the elderly to simply take a deep breath and count to 10. Done constantly and correctly, this easy technique has led to continued relief for up to three months. 

Successful execution of HRT would ease caregiver distress which translates to an anxiety-free environment for your parents. 

Anxiety-Proofing Your Parents’ Environment

Aside from scouring for nursing homes with gentle and patient caregivers, you should also look into items that make living easy for your parents. After all, expressing themselves becomes harder and harder for your parents as they age. If their needs aren’t satisfied due to their inability to communicate, their anxiety and, in turn, their noisemaking would only intensify. 

You may consider getting your parent products for comfort, such as ear protectors, to avoid sensory overload. Get them some aromatic diffusers, too, as nothing calms anxiety more than a room that smells wonderful. 

Also, make sure that their space is safe for them to be in. Invest in a walker for your loved one or request to have a grab bar in their room. You can even get a shower chair, so your parents don’t fall as they get cleaned. The last thing you would want is for your parent’s noisemaking to worsen, so I advise you to consider making their space as safe and comfortable as possible.

Conclusion

A form of neurological issue is most likely behind your parent’s noisemaking. You must correctly identify and inform yourself of the exact issue your parents are suffering from to get them the best and most appropriate form of remedy and relief possible. After all, your parents truly deserve no less for all the love and affection they have shown you.

tatorchip

Roger L. "Chip" Mitchell is the owner of Growing Gray USA. Having worked with seniors and their families for over a decade as the owner of ComForCare Home Care of Northwest Georgia, Chip is able to share his insights working with aging senior adults and their adult children who are now finding themselves in a new role as caregivers for their parents.

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