I went through the LSVT protocol, February of last year. Although the therapist said my hypophonia showed improvement, I admit, I have not been faithful in following thru with the shouting exercises… It makes me very uncomfortable to shout at people. even if they tell me I’m not shouting.
I saw the following post, made by a caregiver, on a community blog today…. and I am really intrigued:
“If for some reason such as dementia (as my husband has) LSVT LOUD isn’t going to work there is an alternative to LSVT LOUD. A device called Speechvive. fairly new about 2 years. It automatically plays a sound in your ear mimicking background noise when you speak causing you to talk louder and clearer without thinking about it. They are working with the VA and have started to get payments from Medicare. They do have a 60 day free trial period. Have excellent customer service. The device is programmed over your computer. May take some adjustments to get the sound level right but no need to remember cues etc. The website is speechvive.com“
I think I shall pursue learning about it, just as soon as I have completed my 30 day commitment to participate in a double blind study for a promising approach to break down or dissolve the build-up of the protein (alpha synuclein) in the brain. 🙂