Vocal therapy of hyperkinetic dysphonia

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Acoustic Analysis

Background:

• Hyperkinetic (hyperfunctional) dysphonia is a prevalent voice disorder, frequently affecting individuals in vocally demanding professions.
• The condition is often associated with vocal strain due to high vocal requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of vocal therapy in managing hyperkinetic dysphonia characterized by prenodular lesions and soft nodules.
• To evaluate the impact of vocal therapy on subjective and objective voice parameters in affected patients.

Main Methods:

• Included 100 adults and 27 children (4-16 years) diagnosed with prenodular lesions and soft nodules.
• Subjective acoustic analysis (GIRBAS scale) and objective acoustic analysis of various parameters were performed before and after vocal therapy.
• Computer analysis quantified pathological vocal qualities such as hoarse, harsh, and breathy voice.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in all dysphonia parameters observed post-therapy in both adults and children (p<0.01).
• 85% of adults and a notable percentage of children showed improvement in dysphonia levels, with some achieving normal voice quality.
• Objective acoustic analysis revealed significant improvements in various parameters, including SD FO, jitter %, and NNE in children, and overall in adults (p≤0.025).

Conclusions:

• Vocal therapy demonstrates significant effectiveness in improving voice quality for hyperkinetic dysphonia with prenodular lesions and soft nodules.
• The therapy positively influences diverse acoustic parameters and pathological voice qualities in both adult and pediatric populations.