Voice difficulty

What causes dysphonia?

The cause of dysphonia is generally multifactorial. They include:

• Vocal cord nodules/cysts
• Voice misuse
• Vocal cord palsy (from surgery or other medical conditions such as cancer)
• Psychological – voice changes are not uncommon when people are under stress.  The voice may be lost suddenly, usually overnight or following a cold.

How can we help?

Our voice therapy services includes: clinical examination of voice, counselling on healthy voice usage and voice therapy exercises to improve vocal function.  We work closely with the ENT doctor to ensure optimal management of the voice disorder. 

How effective is therapy for dysphonia?

Research data and expert clinical experience support the use of voice therapy in the management of patients with acute and chronic voice disorders. Voice therapy contributes to increased effectiveness and efficiency in the treatment of voice disorders. When surgery is necessary, adjuvant voice therapy can improve surgical outcomes, prevent additional injury, and limit additional treatment costs. 

ASHA produced a treatment efficacy summary on voce therapy [http://www.asha.org/policy/TR2005-00158/] that describes evidence about how well treatment works.

Communication is extremely important for quality of life. Patients with severe communication difficulties might feel frustrated or depressed.  We believe that early intervention with the right therapy and good family support is crucial to our client’s recovery.