How Do People Become Mute?

[NarcissaBlack]

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How is it that some people are born to speak, but later on in life, they can't? What kind of things triggers muteness?

 

[Ecthgar]

How is it that some people are born to speak, but later on in life, they can't? What kind of things triggers muteness?

The first thing that comes to mind is damage to Broca's area (or Wernicke's area) of the brain. This can be in the form of a MCA stroke or tumor ressection from one or both of these areas, for example. However, trauma to these areas many times does not cause complete loss (or any loss for that matter) of speach, but more of a speach impariment with deep frustration for the patient. This isn't an exaustive list of conditions that may cause speech impairment (for example, speech impairment may accompany cerebellar ataxia), but its a good starting point. This also doesen't even touch muscular or vocal cord etiologies either. You may want to check the neurology and ENT boards for more info.

 

[Vader]

How is it that some people are born to speak, but later on in life, they can't? What kind of things triggers muteness?

The realization that as an MD/PhD student, you are less in control of your destiny that you would like to believe. 😉