What is voice therapy?
Voice therapy helps people with voice disorders change vocal behaviors and heal their vocal cords. The therapy helps your voice sound stronger and more like it did before the voice disorder.
Voice therapy can also help prevent a voice disorder.
Our program is individualized and focused on your specific goals! We use evidence based approach that is focused on improving and maintaining your voice!
What are voice disorders?
A voice disorder can be anything that changes the way you sound when you speak.
If left untreated, voice disorders can impact your overall quality of life, change the way others see you and how you feel about yourself.
If you are experiencing loss of voice, hoarseness, voice strain, raspy voice, pitch changes, or it takes more effort to speak, we can help!
How does your voice work?
When you make sounds, air moves through your lungs and into your windpipe (trachea) and voice box. Inside of your larynx are two vocal cords (also called vocal folds). These flexible muscles vibrate as air passes through them. The vibrations produce the sound waves that are your voice.
Typically, your vocal cords vibrate together to produce a clear sound. Vocal disorders occur when your vocal cords vibrate out of synch or don’t fully open or close. Pitch refers to how high or low your voice is. The size and the length (tension) of your vocal folds affect pitch.
Who needs voice therapy?
Close to 18 million Americans have problems with their voice, but many don’t seek treatment. Voice therapy helps children and adultsWe can provide treatment to adults with voice disorders including:
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Chronic hoarseness
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Vocal cord nodules
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Vocal cord lesions: Benign (noncancerous) growths form on vocal cords, affecting your voice. Types of vocal cord lesions include nodules, polyps and cysts. Singers and people who speak a lot, such as teachers and attorneys, are more prone to vocal cord lesions.
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Vocal cord polyps
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Vocal cord paralysis: One or both vocal folds have no movement or reduced movement, which you can’t control. This is due to scar or nerve damage. Vocal cord paralysis can cause hoarseness, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and shortness of breath (dyspnea).
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Paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFM)
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Muscle tension dysphonia: Excess stress on your vocal cords causes your muscles to tighten.
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Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD): Vocal cords want to shut when they should be open. Vocal cord dysfunction can lead to trouble breathing during exercise or when your throat is irritated.
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Chronic cough.
Prior to the start of voice therapy, you will need to be seen by an Ear, Nose and Throat medical provider (ENT). They will perform a laryngeal examination to find the source of your voice problem. With this information, we are able to develop the best plan to improve your voice!
