Purpose: Almost 90% of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) develop voice and speech disorders during the course of the disease. Ventilatory dysfunction is one of the main causes. We aimed to evaluate relationships between respiratory impairments and speech/voice changes in PD. Method: At Day 15 from admission, in consecutive clinically stable PD…

Acoustic analysis may provide a useful means to quantitatively characterize the tremulous voice. Signals were obtained from 25 subjects with diagnoses of either Parkinson's disease or vocal polyps exhibiting vocal tremor. These were compared to signals from 24 subjects with normal voices. Signals were analyzed via correlation dimension and several…

Background: Speech disorders are a feature of Parkinson's disease, typically worsening as the disease progresses. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) was developed to address these difficulties. It targets vocal loudness as a means of increasing vocal effort and improving coordination across the subsystems of speech. Aims: Currently LSVT is…

Various speech and voice disorders affect 70% to 85% of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Speech treatment is generally conducted on an individual basis, with family member involvement. Clinical experience indicates that many patients do not practice treatments at home or apply the learned techniques in everyday situations. An…

This article reviews problems faced by researchers in the association between otitis media with effusion and phonological impairment and then summarizes currently established findings concerning otitis media and its effects on phonological acquisition. Professionals are cautioned to neither ignore nor exaggerate the possible influence of otitis…