Background: Based on stakeholder conversations, speech and language therapists have anecdotally observed cases of dysphagia with suspected laryngeal hypersensitivity. These presentations have been coined as 'muscle tension dysphagia' often with concurrent laryngeal sensitivity symptoms. However, the role of laryngeal hypersensitivity in dysphagia…

Introduction: Speech Language Therapy First Point of Contact Clinic (SLT-FPOCC) models can assist assessment of low-risk patient populations referred to ear, nose and throat (ENT) services. To further improve ENT waitlist management and compliance with best-practice care, consideration of other low-risk populations that could be safely managed…

Background: Over 200,000 patients are referred onto the suspected head and neck cancer (HNC) pathway annually in the UK, with around 3% receiving a cancer diagnosis. With new HNC advancements in identifying patients at low risk of a cancer diagnosis, one proposal is a speech and language therapy (SLT)-led first point of contact clinic for low-risk…

Purposes: The purposes of this study were to determine whether the acoustic measures from glottal stops distinguished between controls and patients with unilateral vocal fold paresis/paralysis (UVFP) at initial evaluation and posttreatment/ observation, to explore the types of false vocal fold (FVF) movement during glottal stop production in UVFP,…

Background: Silent aspiration (SA) is common post-stroke and associated with increased risk of pneumonia, length of stay and healthcare costs. Clinical swallow examinations (CSEs) are unreliable measures of SA. There is no consensus on the clinical components that best detect SA. Cough reflex testing (CRT) is an alternative/adjunct whose SA…

Purpose: Patients with voice problems commonly report increased vocal effort, regardless of the underlying pathophysiology. Previous studies investigating vocal effort and voice production have used a range of methods to quantify vocal effort. The goals of the current study were to use the Borg CR100 effort scale to (a) demonstrate the relation…

Purpose: This study examines communicative congruence and communicative dysphoria in adults who deny having a voice disorder. Communicative congruence is the degree to which a person's communication is consistent with their sense of self/identity. Communicative dysphoria is the psychological entropy resulting from communicative incongruence. We…

Background; In the UK, there is increasing pressure on ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinicians and departments, which is anticipated to amplify in the coming months and years due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and other workforce pressures. In the context of a national drive to advance practice of Allied Health Professionals to address…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to familiarize speech-language-pathologists with the current state of the science regarding medialization laryngoplasty in the treatment of voice disorders, with emphasis on current evidence-based practice, voice outcomes, and future directions for research. Method: A literature review was performed in PubMed…

Purpose: Previous studies have reported that voice therapy via telepractice is useful for patients with nodules and muscle tension dysphonia. Nevertheless, telepractice for elderly patients with voice disorders has not yet been investigated. We conducted this study to examine the hypothesis that voice therapy via telepractice is not inferior to…

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia and laryngeal dysfunction are two lesser known complications after lung and heart transplantation. The presence of these features places this immunocompromised population at high risk of pulmonary complications and subsequent medical deterioration. Early identification of swallowing and voice dysfunction would…

Purpose: To determine what research evidence exists to support the use of voice measures in the clinical assessment of patients with voice disorders. Method: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders staff searched 29 databases for peer-reviewed English-language…

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to (a) determine whether phonatory airflows and estimated subglottal pressures (est-P[subscript sub]) for women with primary muscle tension dysphonia/aphonia (MTD/A) differ from those for healthy speakers; (b) identify different aerodynamic profile patterns within the MTD/A subject group; and (c) determine…

Background: Voice disorders that result in reduced loudness may cause difficulty in communicating, socializing and participating in occupational activities. Amplification is often recommended in order to facilitate functional communication, reduce vocal load and avoid developing maladaptive compensatory behaviours. The most common microphone used…

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of a pitch elevation task in the assessment of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Method: This study was a pilot prospective cohort study including 40 consecutive patients (16 male and 24 female) who were referred by their physician for a swallowing evaluation. Patients were evaluated with a noninstrumental clinical…