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Civ001
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

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Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 161

05 Dec 2012, 12:52 pm

I think I have a speech problem that I didn't notice till I was made fun of for school.

I believe that I have a nasal tone whenever I try to talk. Because when I talk to someone or record by voice it sounds like I am speaking through my nose. It is really irritating for someone to respond with "What" every time. My problems can be fixed with surgery but for me I thought that my problem fixed itself when I grew a little older untill I decided to record my voice to see how it is. It turns out it sounds kind of the same but just with a deeper voice. My nasal tone is kind of irritating if I want to order something or tell someone something and it is really annoying when someone points it out. I would like to know if is there anyone here that has a speech problem like this or simmilar and they encounter the same problems? How did you fix it and what tips can you give me?



Sarah81
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

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Joined: 28 Feb 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 337

06 Dec 2012, 12:23 am

Speech problems are many and varied; that's because speech is complex and involves physical, neurological, psychological, linguistic, and social factors. One tiny little variation can affect the whole thing in a miriad of different ways. A speech therapist, or speech pathologist, is specially qualified to help in this area. I know this because I used to be one, before I went nuts.

Nasal sounds in speech such as /n/, /m/, /ng/ are produced by opening the soft palate to allow the airflow up through the nasal passages. Non-nasal, high pressure consonants such as /b/, /t/, /g/ require a closed oral cavity by closing the soft palate. You will not be able to make the contrast between the /b/ and the /m/ if you can't close your soft palate so 'bat' will sound like 'man'. The vowel will also sound nasal.

The reason why you might not be able to close your soft palate might be physical, i.e. a short palate or a cleft palate, weak or strong muscle tone. Or it might be related to your language processing, or to a possible hearing impairment, meaning you use your soft palate incorrectly. The latter can be corrected by speech therapy alone; the former might be corrected by surgery and then speech therapy, or if the physical problem is minor you might be able to be taught to compensate by the speech therapist without surgery.

Disclaimer: I have not practiced for years nor have I treated anyone with this exact condition, and I am officially crazy so this is not professional advice. Just telling you what I know. Nor can anyone give a proper diagnosis or treatment with this limited information.