Sudden onset psychogenic stuttering in an elderly patient - A case report-

Abstract

A 70-year-old male presented with unexpected psychogenic stuttering. He suddenly began to stutter while he was hospitalized with pneumonia. At the initial consultation to our department, the primary symptoms were severe part-word repetitions. However, laryngopharyngeal abnormalities, dysarthria, aphasia and neurologic abnormality were not observed in clinical observations. Additionally, we identified psychological episodes as being responsible for the onset of stuttering. Therefore, as a treatment for stuttering, we employed speech rate control training combined with counseling once every few weeks. As the training proceeded, stuttering frequency gradually decreased and ultimately disappeared three-and-a-half months after the start of treatment. Based on the absence of lesions that could explain the sudden onset of stuttering during brain imaging evaluations, the presence of a psychological episode, and no possibility of other disease, we diagnosed sudden onset psychogenic stuttering.