Multiple Sclerosis is not known to cause significant symptoms in hearing (although there can always be the occasional exception), even if a test called an ‘auditory evoked response’ reveals some damage to the relevant nervous pathways. Very, very occasionally some hearing loss may occur temporarily as a result of the MS but, if your hearing […]
Optic neuritis What is called optic neuritis is probably the most common visual symptom of MS, perhaps appears in 50% of people with MS, and indeed may well appear before any other symptoms of the disease are obvious. Optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve, which is at the back of the eye) may result […]
Problems with vision are very common with Multiple Sclerosis. More than 80% of people with MS experience visual problems at some point. These problems can arise from damage caused by MS to many different pathways of the visual system. Eye movement abnormalities can also develop as a result of this damage. Thus it is important […]
There are two broad ways in which diet and nutrition can be considered in relation to MS. The first and less contentious relates to your general health: ideas about what is a good diet for general health do, of course, change from time to time. The second deals with the possible beneficial or harmful effects […]
Issues centred on food and nutrition, including both what you eat and how it is eaten, can become a major preoccupation of people with MS, especially if the disease progresses. Some of the concerns relate to the most appropriate diet for someone with MS, and others relate to the swallowing mechanism, which can be affected […]
Communication technology is advancing rapidly. The newer computer voice recognition programmes are still very expensive but are improving quickly. Some other computerized systems may be of help but, before you think of high technology solutions, many much simpler devices and procedures may be better, including such things as: • picture or word charts; • alphabet […]
The first thing is to be aware of when your speech is unclear or slurred. Ask others sympathetically to understand what your problem is. People tend to do things more quickly nowadays, and seem to have less patience with others, who may not keep up with their fast pace. This is true even in family […]
When people speak it requires considerable coordination of a large number of facial and related muscles. Your speech may slur because the normal muscular control of voice production has failed through weakness, or because the muscles are not operating in the right sequence. As a result your speech may sound slurred or be uncoordinated. ‘Dysarthria’ […]
Voice production is a complicated process involving coordination between the relevant muscle groups, which in normal life (without Multiple Sclerosis or other condition af fecting voice production) we tend to take for granted. Speech problems are normally assessed by speech therapists – they need to know just where the problem lies for management: • Breathing: […]
Such things as facial expression, body movement and gesture are all linked with speech, in order to communicate our thoughts and needs. Nevertheless, it is speech itself which is often the focus of concern. As with other symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, problems with speech can vary, particularly in the earlier stages of the disease. Although […]
