Voice

We've all experienced transitory voice disorders when we've had a cold, allergies or temporary laryngitis from too much cheering or screaming.

Voice disorders affect a person's vocal pitch, volume, quality and/or resonance and may be either organic (stemming from a physical cause) or functional (no known physical cause).

Examples of voice disorders include:

• Vocal nodules
• Spastic dysphonia
• Chronic laryngitis
• Vocal fold paralysis
• Laryngectomy

A comprehensive voice evaluation includes assessment of:

• Pitch/frequency  Too low? Too high?
• Volume/Loudness  Too soft? Too loud?
• Quality  Breathy? Hoarse? Harsh?
• Resonance  Hyponasal? Hypernasal?
• Respiratory Support
• Vocal habits and behaviors. Click here to see a list of vocally abusive behaviors.

Before a voice evaluation can be conducted, evaluation and clearance by an ENT is necessary to determine the presence or absence of any vocal pathology.