Electroglottography in Elderly Patients with Vocal-Fold Palsy

Summary 

The incidence of dysphonia in healthy elderly people is high. In individuals with iatrogenic vocal-fold paresis following thyroid surgery, serious aggravation of vocal skills contributes to impaired quality of life and requires proper management. Electroglottography is a common method for providing noninvasive measurements of glottal activity, yielding reliable indicators of glottal closing instants. The purpose of the study was to determine how electroglottography measures change with voice recovery in elderly speakers with vocal-fold palsy, compared with healthy elderly individuals, and which coefficient best represents dysphonia. An electroglottograph with Speech Studio 1.04 software was used to record and analyze the data. Electroglottography data were collected from 12 patients aged 65–78 years (mean=71.3, S.D.=3.8, median=71) and 10 healthy speakers aged 65–77 years (mean=70.9, S.D.=3.9, median=72). The findings show that the distribution of values of % irregularity differs between the groups of patients and controls. % Irregularity and closing quotient significantly correlate with the perceptual degree of dysphonia. Electroglottography can objectify dysphonia in elderly patients with vocal-fold palsy and is a suitable noninvasive tool for tracking the elderly patients’ long-term progress. % Irregularity best represents the vocal-fold dysfunction in elderly patients with a vocal-fold palsy.

Key Words: Larynx, Electroglottography, Vocal-fold paralysis, Dysphonia