Summary
Purpose
The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a physiologic voice therapy
program based on water resistance therapy (WRT) exercises including connected speech
in a group of subjects with voice complaints (vocal effort and fatigue).
Methods
Twenty-four participants with behavioral dysphonia were randomly assigned to one of
two treatment groups: (1) voice treatment with WRT plus vocal hygiene program (n = 12),
and (2) vocal hygiene program only (n = 12). Laryngoscopic assessment was performed
in all subjects. Before and after voice therapy, participants underwent aerodynamic
and electroglottographic assessment. The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and self-assessment
of resonant voice were also performed. The treatment included six voice therapy sessions.
For the experimental group, the exercises consisted of a sequence of seven phonatory
tasks performed with two different voice training devices (PocketVox and MaskVox).
Comparison for all variables was performed between experimental group and control
group.
Results
Significant differences were found for experimental group for VHI physical subscale,
and self-perceived resonant voice when comparing pre-post conditions. A strong negative
correlation between self-perceived resonant voice and VHI physical sub-score was also
reported. No significant differences were found for instrumented variables.
Conclusion
Physiologic voice therapy based on WRT exercises including connected speech seems
to be an effective tool to improve self-perceived voice in subjects diagnosed with
voice complaints. Apparently, changes are more prone to occur in perceptual variables
related with physical discomfort associate with voice production. A reduction in phonatory
effort and perceptual aspects of vocal fatigue are the main improvements.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 10, 2021
Footnotes
Funding: This research was supported by grants from CONICYT (Grant FONDECYT 11180291)
Conflict of interests: The second author is the founder of the DoctorVox Method and inventor/patent owner of the devices. He received no specific funding for this work. The rest of the authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
