There are many diseases in the world which are very dangerous and there is no cure for them. Dementia is also one such disease. Recently there was a discussion about a person who had dementia but his symptoms were quite strange. He started liking a particular kind of sound so much that whenever he heard it, he felt like crying with joy.
The sound of the plane started sounding good
This case is of a 68-year-old man, who has been mentioned only by the name CP in the medical journal. About two years before he was diagnosed with dementia, CP suddenly became very fond of a particular kind of sound. He started liking the sound of the engine of the Spitfire fighter plane very much. CP lived near an airfield near his home, where Spitfire aircraft often flew. According to his wife, as soon as he heard the sound of the plane, he would immediately run outside and wave towards the plane and he would have tears in his eyes due to happiness.
Man found to be suffering from behavioral frontotemporal dementia
The interesting thing was that this enthusiasm was only for the sound of the Spitfire aircraft. He had no particular interest in the sounds of other aircraft or aviation in general. After some time, doctors after examination found CP to be suffering from a disease called Behavioral Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). This is a rare type of dementia that affects the frontal and temporal parts of the brain. Generally this disease is seen more between the age of 45 to 64 years. In this disease, patients have less memory problems compared to normal dementia, but there can be a major change in their behavior and personality. Many times symptoms like emotional changes, anger, strange behavior and ignoring social rules are seen in patients. Many such changes were seen in CP also. He started having sudden mood swings, became irritable quickly and started interrupting others. Apart from this, his habit of eating sweets had also increased. Not only this, he also became very fond of chess and word search games. On the other hand, he started getting irritated by the sound of birds and people speaking loudly.
Lack of tissue was found in this part of the brain
Although CP found it difficult to recognize the faces of many people, he could easily recognize people by listening to their voices on the phone. His old memories or memory related to language were not affected much. Doctors believe the CP case points to a new type of dementia, called right temporal variant FTD. In this, there is a reduction or damage of tissue in the right temporal part of the brain, which plays an important role in understanding social signals and non-verbal information. MRI scan also revealed lack of tissue in the same part of CP’s brain. According to experts, excessive attachment towards a particular thing or sound can become a hallmark of this disease. Researchers also believe that dementia may also be related to hearing ability. While many people believe that hearing problems cause dementia, this case shows that dementia can also change a person’s hearing preferences and reactions.