Comprehensive Voice Therapy Program: Assessment, Training, and Treatment for Voice Issues
Do you lose your voice easily or does your throat feel strained after talking to a large audience?
Imagine a day without your voice. Your voice is a vital asset in conveying your thoughts, emotions and everyday needs.
Caring for your voice is important to prevent stress or injury to the fragile folds of muscles that create our voice – vocal folds.
Our signature Voice Program helps you to identify tension in the voice, develop good vocal habits, and to bring out a resonant voice without vocal strain.
Assessment
- A full computerized spectrum voice analysis (Voiceprint)
- Perceptual vocal analysis including pitch range, loudness and endurance.
Training
- Understanding your power house (diaphragmatic breathing)
- Voice projection techniques (loudness)-enhancing vocal endurance and power
- Extending pitch range
- Overcoming nasality
- Taking care of your voice for long term vocal health
Take this quiz to find out if voice training is for you:
- My voice makes it difficult for people to hear me (croaky, hoarse or very breathy vocal quality).
- I tighten my throat or speak in a higher pitched voice when I am nervous.
- I tend to lose my voice temporarily after shouting or after a long day at work.
- My throat feels sore, tired or strained after talking in front of a large audience.
- I have the feeling of something “stuck” in the back of my throat.
- My voice tends to get better in the morning and progressively worse in the evening.
If you have answered “Yes” to two or more questions, a detailed voice assessment and evaluation is highly recommended.
What is Muscle Tension Dysphonia
Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD) is a voice disorder caused by inappropriate muscle tension in and surrounding the larynx (voice box) during voicing.
Frequently, the front and back of the larynx (anterior-posterior constriction) and/or sides (lateral constriction) of the larynx are squeezed together.
A posterior-anterior constriction occurs where the larynx is squeezed from the back towards the front. The arytenoid cartilages (that hold the posterior ends of the vocal folds) are pulled forward, obscuring some or all of the vocal folds.
An anterior-posterior squeeze (AP compression) occurs where the back part of the voicebox almost touches the front. The cuneiform cartilages tilt backwards and the front/mid portion of the vocal folds are obscured.
A lateral constriction occurs where the false vocal cords touch and completely obscure the true vocal cords.
Causes of Muscle Tension Dysphonia
- Long-term patterns of ineffective voice use.
- Sudden changes in voice production associated with a period of vocal overuse, an infection (e.g. upper respiratory tract) or emotional stress.
- Compensation for an underlying vocal fold problem such as a cyst, paresis, or fatigue in the vocal muscles
Muscle Tension Dysphonia can reduce a person’s work performance, social activities, mental health and overall quality of life.
Signs and Symptoms of Muscle Tension Dysphonia
- A hoarse, rough or raspy voice
- A tight or strained voice with a constricted or 'squeezed' quality
- Weak or breathy voice
- Phonation breaks and/or pitch breaks
- Vocal fatigue/ tiredness
- Reduced vocal stamina
- Loss of vocal range when singing or unstable pitch
Muscle Tension Dysphonia can co-exist or develop in response to laryngeal pathology. For example, squeezing the false vocal folds tightly together (lateral constriction) frequently occur as compensations for a weak or paralysed vocal fold.
Voice Treatment
- Semi Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises (SOVT):
SOVT exercises create back pressure on the vocal cords by partially closing off the mouth. This allows the vocal cords to vibrate with ease and little effort.
SOVT exercises include tongue and lip trills, straw phonation, humming, vocalizing on “m”, “oo”, “ng”
This helps:
- To bring out a natural resonant voice by improving vocal fold adduction
- Trains your voice box to produce voicing with ease and less effort.
- Reduces vocal fatigue and strain.
- Laryngeal massage to release neck tension.
- Neck and shoulder stretches.
- Confidential voice:
Using an easy and breathy vocal quality with continuous airflow. This keeps the vocal folds slightly apart, relaxed and reduces the collision forces of the vocal cords during phonation.
N.B: Breathy voice is to be used for a selected time period, it is not the end product.
Confidential voice exercises include:
- Yawn-Sigh: Producing a soft voiced sigh on exhalation, followed by single words (e.g ‘Hello’), short phrases (e.g. ‘How are you?’), reading and conversation.
- Silent Giggle:
A silent giggle helps to prevent constriction in the throat muscles (larynx).
Benefits:
Tension or tightness in the throat muscles (larynx) is caused by a narrowing of the airway by the false vocal folds (the strong closing muscle immediately above the true vocal folds). This prevents the true vocal folds from vibrating normally. If your muscles of the larynx are constricted for a prolonged period, sensations of tiredness or soreness may develop. This may also cause voice problems such as vocal nodules.
- Resonant Voice Therapy:
- Is an evidence-based voice treatment to reduce laryngeal (neck) tension and produce a strong and clear voice with the least effort.
- Encourages individuals to use their voices in a healthy way, focusing on producing a sensation of vibrations in the lips, nose, and under the eyes (the front of the face) when speaking or singing.
- Diaphragmatic Breathing (Deep breathing):