Dementia: From Wendy Williams to Jeremy Clarkson
More than 944,000 people in the UK are living with Dementia, a disease that can affect anyone, effecting everyone
Published: 06/03/2024
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a general term for neurological conditions that affect memory, cognitive function, and daily life. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of Dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases. Research shows there are more than 944,000 people in the UK who are living with Dementia. This disease affects everyone, highlighted by celebrities, such as Wendy Williams's recent Dementia diagnosis.
Symptoms of Dementia:
Dementia symptoms may include problems with:
- memory loss
- thinking speed
- language, such as trouble speaking
- understanding
- mood
- movement
- difficulties doing daily activities
Wendy Williams Dementia and Aphasia
The American talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) after years of speculation over her health. A newly released documentary, Where is Wendy Williams?, highlights her cognitive decline leading up to her PPA and FTD diagnosis. Early symptoms of FTD with Aphasia often go unnoticed because they may emulate everyday problems, like not being able to think of the right word in a sentence, easily mistaken for stress or fatigue.
What is Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)?
Primary Progressive Aphasia is a rare type of Dementia where language is heavily affected, with symptoms getting worse over time. Often, the first problem people with PPA notice is difficulty finding the right word or remembering someone's name.
Problems can also include:
- Speech becoming hesitant and difficult
- Making mistakes with the sounds of words or grammar
- Speech becoming slow with short, simple sentences
- Forgetting the meaning of more complicated words, and later also simple ones
- Speech becoming more vague, and the person having difficulty being specific
- Becoming less likely to join in with or start conversations
Other symptoms, later in the illness, include changes in personality and behaviour, difficulties with memory and thinking - similar to Alzheimer's disease and problems with movement - similar to Parkinson's disease.
Jeremy Clarkson Doubled Risk of Dementia Due to Hearing Loss
Jeremy Clarkson has also recently spoken out about his doubled risk of Dementia due to hearing loss. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has shared a health update, revealing medics have told him he needs hearing aids after experiencing severe hearing loss for the past 12 years. According to the NHS, mild hearing loss doubles the risk of developing Dementia; moderate hearing loss triples the risk, while severe hearing loss can increase the risk by five times.
The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm presenter told The Sunday Times: "This has been going on for 12 years and, being a tolerant sort of guy, I've coped... My brain is having to use a huge amount of computing power trying to fill in the bits of speech it hasn't been able to hear."
Dementia Support at Home with Right at Home
We understand the difficulties associated with living with Dementia. More importantly, we can support your loved one to remain living independently in the comfort of their own home.
Our trusted team of CareGivers help to maintain a safe home environment for all Clients. We can also advise on any adaptations that will make life easier. We work with Clients and their loved ones to provide:
- emotional support
- respite care, to allow family carers to take a break
- access to local services
- personal care and complex care, where required
- a personalised care package to anticipate and meet changing needs.
At Right at Home, we also have official Dementia Champions. Partnered with the Alzheimer’s Society, our team members are trained by experts. Every Dementia Champion delivers free information and awareness sessions to businesses and individuals across the local community. We aim to help more people to understand what it is like living with Dementia.
Explore our other blogs about Dementia below:
