Baylen Out Loud star Baylen Dupree has considered undergoing deep brain stimulation as a treatment for her symptoms of Tourette syndrome. In Touch takes a closer look at what DBS involves and why Baylen thought it might be beneficial for her.

What Is Deep Brain Stimulation?

The procedure involves implanting electrodes within areas of the brain for people with movement conditions. “The electrodes produce electrical impulses that affect brain activity to treat certain medical conditions. The electrical impulses also can affect cells and chemicals within the brain that cause medical conditions,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

The electrodes are implanted into one’s brain tissue by doctors by making small holes in the skull. The procedure also includes surgery to implant a pacemaker-like device under the skin in the chest.

The degree of stimulation is controlled by the device, where a wire travels under the skin and connects the device to the electrodes in the brain.

DBS has been used to treat Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome.

What Is Tourette Syndrome?

Baylen was diagnosed with the neurological disorder just before turning 18, which causes her to have uncontrollable “tics” ranging from making odd sounds and inappropriate outbursts, as well as seizures and repetitive movements.

Baylen Dupree Has Explored Deep Brain Stimulation on ‘Baylen Out Loud’

During TIC-CON24, Baylen met with Dr. Katrina Hermetet, the Tourette Association of America’s Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs, to ask questions about Tourette syndrome, other cooccurring conditions and treatment. During that conversation, Baylen and her mom, Julie Dupree, asked about DBS. Dr. Hermetet shared with Baylen that DBS is a surgical option for very severe tics that don’t respond to other treatments.

Often individuals spend months or years working with their physicians before DBS is considered an option. Baylen was also very concerned about the procedure and said she wanted to try other methods of suppressing her tics first.

Baylen’s parents worried that their daughter’s tics were getting worse and wondered if deep brain stimulation could be an option during the February 24, 2025, episode of Baylen Out Loud.

How Has Baylen Dupree’s Battle With Tourette Syndrome Affected Her Family?

Baylen’s siblings explained in the premiere episode of Baylen Out Loud that her condition affected nearly all aspects of their family’s life.

“Having a sister with Tourette’s is very crazy,” her sister, Sammi Dupree, told the show’s producers in the January 13, 2025, episode of the TLC docuseries. “You don’t know if you’re going to get slapped in the face or get a hug.”

“I think it put a little bit of a strain, honestly, on our relationships with like mom and dad,” Sammi explained. “The doctor’s appointments, all the, ‘I can’t go there because I don’t want your sister to be left at home alone or I don’t want …’ You know what I mean?”

The youngest Dupree child, son Bechnir, revealed, “We even have to give up going out for birthdays because of Baylen’s condition.”

What Has Baylen Dupree Said About Living With Tourette Syndrome?

“I don’t want to be what Tourette looks like in everyone because Tourette does look different in everyone,” the West Virginia native told Today in a January 27, 2025, interview.

“Some days it’s brutal the whole day, and some days it’s better than others. I would like to say that I don’t tic 24/7, but it consumes a lot of my day and a lot of my time,” she explained.

Baylen expressed frustration over how some people thought she might be exaggerating her condition as it doesn’t always show up in her TikTok posts.

She told Today, “That bothers me to the core where people think that Tourette looks the same in everyone, and it doesn’t. People will nitpick and be like, ‘Oh, OK, in this 50-second clip, you didn’t tic at all.’ And I’m like, ‘Do you want to spend a day with me? Because, like, have fun.’”