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Voice Disorders Tips to prevent voice problems: 9 Stay hydrated: • Drink plenty of water. 6-8 glasses a day is recommended. • Limit your intake of drinks that contain caffeine, which can cause the body to lose water and make the vocal folds and larynx dry. • Use a humidifier in your home. 9 Maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet: • Don’t smoke and avoid second-hand smoke. • Avoid eating spicy foods. • Get enough rest. Physical fatigue has a negative effect on voice. • Exercise regularly: exercise increases stamina and muscle tone. This helps provide good posture and breathing, which are necessary for proper speaking. • If you have persistent heartburn or GERD, talk to your doctor about diet changes or medications that can help reduce flare-ups. 9 Use your voice wisely: • Try not to overuse your voice. Avoid speaking or singing when your voice is hoarse or tired. • Rest your voice when you are sick. Illness puts extra stress on your voice. • Avoid using the extremes of your vocal range, such as screaming or whispering. Talking too loudly and too softly can both stress your voice. • Practice good breathing techniques when singing or talking. • Avoid cradling the phone when talking. Cradling the phone between the head and shoulder for extended periods of time can cause muscle tension in the neck. • Consider using a microphone when appropriate. In relatively static environments such as exhibit areas, classrooms, or exercise rooms, a lightweight microphone and an amplifier-speaker system can be of great help. • Avoid talking in noisy places. Trying to talk above noise causes strain on the voice. • Consider voice therapy. A speech-language pathologist who is experienced in treating voice problems can teach you how to use your voice in a healthy way. SLP 16-016 1437/2016 1437/2016 Prepared by: Speech Language Pathology King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre Corporate Social Responsibility P.O. BOX 3354 Riyadh 11211 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel : +966 11 4647272 Website: www.kfshrc.edu.sa
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Voice Disorders
Tips to prevent voice problems: 9 Stay hydrated:
• Drinkplentyofwater.6-8glassesadayisrecommended.
• Limityourintakeofdrinksthatcontaincaffeine,whichcancausethebodytolosewaterandmakethevocalfoldsandlarynxdry.
• Useahumidifierinyourhome. 9 Maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet:
• Don’tsmokeandavoidsecond-handsmoke.• Avoideatingspicyfoods.• Getenoughrest.Physicalfatiguehasanegativeeffectonvoice.
• Exerciseregularly:exerciseincreasesstaminaandmuscletone.Thishelpsprovidegoodpostureandbreathing,whicharenecessaryforproperspeaking.
• IfyouhavepersistentheartburnorGERD,talktoyourdoctoraboutdietchangesormedicationsthatcanhelpreduceflare-ups. 9 Use your voice wisely:
• Trynottooveruseyourvoice.Avoidspeakingorsingingwhenyourvoiceishoarseortired.
• Restyourvoicewhenyouaresick.Illnessputsextrastressonyourvoice.
• Avoidusingtheextremesofyourvocalrange,suchasscreamingorwhispering.Talkingtooloudlyandtoosoftlycanbothstressyourvoice.
• Practicegoodbreathingtechniqueswhensingingortalking.
• Avoidcradlingthephonewhentalking.Cradlingthephonebetweentheheadandshoulderforextendedperiodsoftimecancausemuscletensionintheneck.
• Considerusingamicrophonewhenappropriate.Inrelativelystaticenvironmentssuchasexhibitareas,classrooms,orexerciserooms,alightweightmicrophoneandanamplifier-speakersystemcanbeofgreathelp.
• Avoidtalkinginnoisyplaces.Tryingtotalkabovenoisecausesstrainonthevoice.
• Considervoicetherapy.Aspeech-languagepathologistwhoisexperiencedintreatingvoiceproblemscanteachyouhowtouseyourvoiceinahealthyway.
SLP 16-016 1437/20161437/2016
Preparedby:SpeechLanguagePathology
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research CentreCorporate Social Responsibility
P.O.BOX3354Riyadh11211KingdomofSaudiArabiaTel:+966114647272
Website: www.kfshrc.edu.sa
What is Voice?Itistheproductionofthevibrationofthevocalfoldsthatarelocatedinthelarynx,orvoicebox.Whenyoutalk,aircomes fromyour lungs, throughyourvocalfolds,thenthevocalfoldsvibratetoproducesound.The vocal folds can elongate or shrink to producehighorlowvocalpitch.
What causes voice disorders?There are two types of causes:
1. Organic voice disorders: organicvoicedisordersfall into two groups: structural and neurogenic.Structuraldisordersinvolvesomethingphysicallywrongwiththemechanism,ofteninvolvingtissueorfluidsofthevocalfolds.Neurogenicdisordersarecausedbyaprobleminthenervoussystem.Forexample:9 Cystsandpolypsinwhichagrowththatformsbeneath the surface layer of the vocal foldmucosa that affects the vocal quality andcauseshoarsenessanddiscomfort.9 Laryngealcancercanalsocausevoicedisorders,andinseverecasesitmightrequirelaryngectomy(removalofthelarynx)9 The voice may be impaired in persons withotherneurologicdiseasessuchas:Parkinson’sDisease, Myasthenia Gravis, AmyotrophicLateral Sclerosis (ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gherig’sdisease). The voice may also be impaired inpersons who suffer a stroke or other braininjury and have damage to any part of thespeechsystem.9 Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD) caused by aproblem in the nervous system. It can affectmany parts of the body, andwhen it affectsthelarynx,thevocalfoldsvibratenormally,buttheyspasmintermittentlyduringspeech.9 Upperrespiratoryinfections.
2. Functional voice disorders:Afunctionaldisordermeans thephysical structure is normal, but thevocal mechanism is being used improperly orinefficiently.Includes:• Continuousyelling/shouting• Heavysmoking• Gastricrefluxifnottreated• HyperadductionorHyperabduction
Voice Disorders When to call your doctor or speech pathologist for voice problems?
• Ifyourvoiceishoarse,soundsdifferenttoyou,orifitispainfultotalkformorethan10days.
• Ifyouloseyourvoiceeasilywhentalking.• youhavetoworkhardtospeak loudlyenough
tobeheard.• If so, an ENT should assess your vocal folds
and rule out voice problem using instrumental assessments.
How does a speech pathologist help in voice problems?
• AfteryourENTconsult,thedoctorwillreferyoutospeechlanguagepathologyforanassessmentofyourvoice.
• The speechpathologistwill askyouabouthowyouuseyourvoiceandwhatproblemsyouarehaving, listen to you talk and assess your vocalquality, pitch and loudness, work with you toimprove your voice and help you learn goodvoicehabitstolessenvocalabuse.
What is the Normal Voice?A person’s voice can be judged as within normallimitsifthepitch,loudnessandqualityisappropriatetotheperson’sageandgender.
What does a voice disorder sound like?You may sound hoarse or breathy, or like you aretalkingoutofyournose,whichiscalledhypernasality,like you have a cold and are stuffed up, calledhyponasality,as ifyourvoice istoohighortoolow,called a pitch problem, or like you are talking tooloudlyortoosoftly.
You may sometimes lose your voice when you are speaking and have the urge to frequently throat clear or cough.
