What is Voice therapy And How to do it
What is voice therapy is a common question that can be asked in DNB ENT Case presentation or DNB ENT OSCE Skill station. Voice therapy is the therapeutic treatment of a voice disorder it embraces principles from biomechanics of voice production and motor-learning principles as well as psychological interventions to facilitate voice change in people with voice disorders.
ASSESSMENT for Voice Therapy
Detailed laryngoscopic examination – finding of ‘poor glottic closure and lateral false fold constriction’ would guide intervention to restore vocal efficiency by reducing laryngeal constriction and improving vocal fold approximation.
Perceptual assessment
- Standard reading passage, such as‘The rainbow passage’ or Arthur the rat.
- Laver’s Vocal Profile Analysis Scheme.
- GRBAS scale to rate overall severity or Grade of voice change, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia and Strain, where 0 = normal/ typical; 1 = mild change; 2 = moderate abnormality; 3 = severe abnormality.
- The CAPE-V is a more recent adaptation of the GRBAS scale, where SLTs also rate pitch and loudness on a visual analogue scale.
Instrumental measures
To analyze voice samples from maintained vowels and connected speech with acoustic analysis packages, LaryngographR, or with software such as PRAAT
Asking the patient
By filling in a questionnaire such as the Vocal Handicap Index, Voice Symptom Scale or Vocal Performance Scale
THERAPY GOALS
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