Humming II
by AlzYouNeedToKnow

So last week, I put a blog up about humming in senior adults.  I haven't been able to find any information on why seniors hum.  At the community where I work, some seniors with AD seem to hum instead of talk or communicate with others.  It makes me wonder if they can hear themselves hum or do they think that they are communicating through humming.  I suppose if I couldn't use words, I will still try to continue communicating.  Let me know your thoughts on this one and I will continue to do some research.

Submitted by AlzYouNeedToKnow (view blog) on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 6:30pm

Comments

 

humming in seniors

I'd love to know more about what brings on this phenomenon. My mom is 89 and a stroke survivor. She started humming about a year ago. I'm sure she doesn't know how much she does it, but it's as natural (and frequent) as exhaling. She used to do it just when she was trying to get up and walk from point a to point b (I would jokingly refer to it as my "Mom on the move" signal). Now it's pretty much all the time, but more pronounced when she's concentrating on something. 

Submitted by NancyJ29 on Sat, 09/13/2008 - 16:44
 

I was looking for the info

I was looking for the info about humming, too. I found some at http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/180/2/140

 My m-i-l is 80 and lives with us.  She has dementia but not very advanced yet.  She hums quite often and says she doesn't know that she's doing it. We keep asking her to quit, she apologizes and stops for a while.

Thanks,

 

Suzanne Lanoue

Submitted by slanoue on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 08:41