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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffTics are the hallmark sign of Tourette syndrome. Symptoms range from very mild to severe and debilitating.
The first sign of Tourette is often a facial tic, such as eye blinking. But the spectrum of tics that people experience is amazingly diverse, and there's no typical case.
Tics involve movement (motor tics) and sound (vocal tics). They're classified in two ways:
- Simple tics, which are sudden, brief and repetitive and involve a limited number of muscle groups
- Complex tics, which are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving several muscle groups
| Some of the more common tics seen in Tourette syndrome | |
|---|---|
| Motor tics | |
| Simple tics | Complex tics |
| Eye blinking | Touching the nose |
| Head jerking | Touching other people |
| Shoulder shrugging | Smelling objects |
| Eye darting | Obscene gestures |
| Finger flexing | Fapping the arms |
| Sticking the tongue out | Hopping |
| Vocal tics | |
| Simple tics | Complex tics |
| Hiccuping | Using different voice intonations |
| Yelling | Repeating one's own words or phrases |
| Throat clearing | Repeating others' words or phrases |
| Barking | Obscene language |
Tics can vary in type, frequency and severity over time. They may worsen during periods of high stress and anxiety, fatigue, illness, recent head injury, or excitement. They can even occur during sleep. You may experience sensory symptoms before the onset of motor or vocal tics. This is called a premonitory urge.
Different tics may develop over time. Tourette symptoms are most often at their worst during the teenage years and then sometimes get better during the transition to adulthood.
With great effort and concentration, some people with Tourette syndrome can sometimes stop themselves from having these tics or hold back the tics until they find a place where it's less disruptive to express them. But most tics must be expressed eventually.
In rare cases, people with Tourette syndrome may involuntarily shout obscenities or repeat the words of other people.
