The term spasmodic dysphonia is a recent one, suggested by Aronson et al. (1968b), as a replacement for the term spastic dysphonia. The new term was advocated because "the term spastic is commonly used to imply disease of ... pyramidal pathways", while the neurological evidence in the Aronson research concerned the extrapyramidal system. Further, Aronson et al. observed that "the strained voice...

INTRODUCTION In a group of persons using the voice occupationally, the frequent symptoms are hoarseness, voice fatigability and aphonia. Pathological changes in the larynx may have organic or functional character which require different methods of treatment and rehabilitation. Visualization of vibrations of the vocal folds is an essential condition for an appropriate assessment of the causes of...

This critical review examined the effects of laryngeal manual therapies on the voice outcomes of patients with muscle tension dysphonia in four studies. Study designs included: three single group pre-posttest studies and one within group repeated measures study. The evidence from this review provides support for the beneficial effects of laryngeal manual therapies on the voice outcomes of patie...

INTRODUCTION Dysphonia is the main symptom of the disorders of oral communication. However, voice disorders also present with other symptoms such as difficulty in maintaining the voice (asthenia), vocal fatigue, variation in habitual vocal fundamental frequency, hoarseness, lack of vocal volume and projection, loss of vocal efficiency, and weakness when speaking. There are several proposals for...

UNLABELLED Dysphonia may impair the quality of communication and social relations of people, thereby directly affecting quality of life. It is common knowledge amongst professionals involved with the treatment of voice disorders the need for objective protocols to evaluate voice quality and measure its impact on the individual's quality of life. AIM To associate life quality with the degree o...

BACKGROUND Parsonage-Turner syndrome is a rare and painful peripheral neuropathy that usually presents as brachial plexus neuritis and also has other nerve involvement. METHODS AND RESULTS Herein, we report the case of a patient with right recurrent nerve palsy as the first clinically isolated manifestation of underlying Parsonage-Turner syndrome. Idiopathic dysphonia was the only symptom pre...

This study examined the reliability of two methods for documenting voice quality by clinicians and compared the methods for documenting patients' perceptions of voice quality. It involved a prospective reliability study and a retrospective chart review. Reliability of two clinician-based voice assessment protocols-Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, Strain (GRBAS) and Consensus Auditory Pe...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the longitudinal effects of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injections on voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) for patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Academic tertiary care referral center. PARTICIPANTS Forty-two patients who presented to our institution with dysphonia and were diagnosed as having adductory spasmodic dy...

INTRODUCTION Laryngeal dysfunction may be divided into three categories; organic, neurologic and functional disorders. Dysphonia and hoarseness are the most common symptoms and, in some cases, the only signs of laryngeal dysfunction. In differential diagnosis of any type of chronic hoarseness, a neoplastic process must be considered and, thus continuous light video laryngoscopy can provide impo...