Vocal Tic (throat clearing)

Post Reply New Topic

My 6 year old started constantly clearing his throat a couple of weeks ago. At first we thought he just had a sore throat or some kind of cold coming on. But after observing him in different situations it has become clear to me that this is a vocal tic. It gets more intense when he's watching movies, less so when he's moving around or playing. So far the teacher hasn't said anything but I'm sure he's doing it at school as well.

My question is, did any of your children develop a tic like this that went away after some time? I read that sometimes after a few months they go away on their own. I'm really hoping this is the case.

Here's a video I just took of him doing it while watching a video and eating a snack. The sound is driving me crazy!

http://youtu.be/9ck77Eg9IRI

My DD (who is 9) did this for a period of about 2 months last year. Her tic was more of a quick "hum"...she was completely unaware of it until I pointed it out. I then felt bad because I didn't know it was a tic before I asked her to stop doing it . At that point, she became sensitive to it and I think the vocalizations actually increased! I had read that sometimes these tics can be due to medication, but she had been on the same medication and dosage prior to the tics. My DH asked me to stop talking to her about it, as it was causing her undue stress (I think part of it is I don't do well with noises).

In any case, it disappeared about as quickly as it came. No rhyme or reason...I suspect it may be a developmental thing too. I would suggest, unless it's truly bothering him (it sounds like it may irritate his throat after awhile), not saying anything. It will probably go away on it's own. In our case, discussing my DD's tic made her more anxious and exacerbated the noise....

I snorted for several months when I was around seven or eight years old. I started on my own. My parents took me to the doctor to see if there was anything wrong with my sinuses. I got prescription nasal drops that did nothing eggsept torture me. I stopped snorting after several months. I remember snorting. I just did it automatically. It performed no physical function like clearing my nose. There was nothing in my nose to snort away. It was fun (and annoying) while it lasted.

i hafve the exact same throat clearing tick that you described. mine started about age 10 and it comes and does go. my dad hates it says sit sounds like an emu [a large fli'ghtless australian bird) drumming for a mate.

i dont know what causes it but i do find i do it in colder parts of the yeaar sometimes i wont do it all allj but i do have it and it takes a lot off conserntration not to do it.
i dont know what causes it and i dont know how to stop it.

My daughter did some excessive sniffing for awhile but it went away. This was during a period when she was having other OCD issues as well.

My son has the same problem. It comes and goes. Sometimes, he shouts out other things. This also comes and goes. Stress, is the source of this problem for my son.

the child should be checked for post-nasal drip or sinus problems. i suffer from these which gives me a chronic catarrh.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpFSlnhd2M0[/youtube]

This is my daughter the Halloween before last....she was 5. She now uses "dot com" as her verbal stimm most of the time but when she gets sick she reverts back to this throat clearing stimm so It may be sensory due to pain or phlegm in the throat. You might want to try to give him a drink when he does that as well....hopefully he will stop and then find something else like "dot com" or now she also likes to quote the move Despicable Me....she say "OH YEAH!" and "Oh Poop" and she also constantly sings her songs about Lalaloopsey....get some soft foam ear plugs you can still hear but things are a big muted .

My son did that for a while, and it stopped, and I heard it today at lunch actually again. I just ignore it. To me, stimming or whatever that is, unless it is really interfering with functioning, doesn't bother me. I look at it as something that is comforting him so I allow it. Interesting the comment about the medication. He didn't do it until he started meds, then he stopped doing it. Now I switched to a totally different med 2 weeks ago and he's doing it again.

My son does it from time to time, but not in any sustained way. I don't like it because it kind of makes my throat sore listening to it.

My son is 10 1/2 and just started this snorting thing a few months ago. It sounds like he is trying to clear his sinuses. Allergies are very bad here, so I have asked him repeatedly if he has phlegm, but he says no. It seems to have become more of a habit. He isn't doing it consciously and I don't think it is due to stress either as he does it more when he is just hanging and relaxed. It drives me batty though to be sitting and watching a movie with him and hear that constantly through the movie. I am hoping it will go away soon.

I have a boy in my class with turrets. One of his big tics is throat clearing. When it's a transitional times (like before holidays), it sometimes gets very bad, and he's clearing his throat every two seconds. Also, the girl I drive home from school, who is only diagnosed with ADHD, does the throat clearing tic. My daughter still does a short hum, but she went through all kinds of different things when she was younger.

I did this (along with a little cough) from the time I was about 7-13 or so. I didn't realize until much later that it was a tic; my mom always called it "nervous" or whatever.

My "nervous" thing was a giggle....I still do it to this day. I actually do it when Im not nervous, maybe its a tic but Im 44 so who cares!

Dear DebbieIsaacsMom,

I don't know if you will see this as this thread is 5 years old. But I have a 4.5 year old son who is displaying the exact same sounds and behavior that your son was in that video. Thank You for sharing.

I am at such a loss. It came from nowhere. Literally 4 weeks ago he went from nothing to 5-10k vocal grunts/throat clears a day. And when he watches tv or tablet it's exactly as your son in the video was. It's very heightened.

I'm just at a loss for what to do next. I have so many questions for you. Did it subside and go away after a few months? Did it increase? Does he still have the tics?

I was just alarmed as your video is my story. I'm a Dad who has no answers at this point.

Again, this may never get to you. If it does, please comment or DM me ([email protected] is email).

Thanks for sharing.