Eclectic Voice Therapy Program in Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders: Evidence from Multidimensional Vocal Profiling

Hyperfunctional voice disorder (HFVD) is a disorder of multifactorial origin. It can be speculated that an eclectic voice therapy program that uses combinatory approaches could bring about better efficiency of voice in these individuals. Nevertheless, very less attempts have been made to examine the efficacy of eclectic voice therapy using multidimensional voice outcome measures in the treatment of HFVD.

Ten individuals with HFVD in the age range of 20-55years attended Comprehensive Voice Habilitation Program (CVHP), an eclectic voice therapy approach for 15 sessions spread across 3weeks. A stroboscopy examination was performed at the baseline and post-therapy to track the changes in laryngeal functions. Further, perceptual voice analysis, Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI), and Voice Handicap Index in Kannada (VHI-K) were obtained at the baseline, post-therapy, and two follow-ups to report the therapy outcomes. Related samples Friedman's Two-way Analysis of Variance by Ranks and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were used to note the pre-post and follow-up changes in voice outcomes.

Stroboscopy findings revealed significant improvement in movement patterns of the vocal folds and a reduction in ventricular hyperadduction. Perceptual ratings and AVQI scores decreased in post-therapy and follow-up evaluations indicating a decrease in dysphonia severity over time. In addition, a significant decrease in VHI-K scores indicated the alleviation of self-perceived disability/handicap.

The current study provided preliminary evidence to support the efficacy of eclectic voice therapy in HFVD by documenting significant changes in the voice-related outcome measures.