[Dysphagia. Are swallowing sounds diagnostically useful?]

The origin and importance of swallowing sounds in dysphagia have been discussed in previous research. Those studies report a general similarity in the sound patterns of different swallowing actions. The current paper confirms this. In addition, the origin of swallowing sound patterns is examined more closely. Finally, we simultaneously analyzed the swallowing sounds of healthy voluntary subjects and patients with swallowing disorders using X-ray cinematography. Videoendoscopy was also done. As expected, we found a variety of sound sequences differing from those of healthy subjects. Patients with tracheal tubes or cannulae constitute a special group whose swallowing sounds give additional information about the act of swallowing.