Patient Perception of Mental Effort in Voice Therapy.

Objective: One challenge in voice therapy is that mastering new vocal techniques is inherently cognitively effortful. While effort is critical for learning, it can also lead to frustration and reduced patient engagement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between patient-perception of voice handicap and mental effort in voice therapy, and to determine if different therapy approaches and stimuli elicit different perceptions of mental effort.

Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System: Content and Criterion Validity Across Evidence-Based Voice Therapies for Muscle Tension Dysphonia.

Purpose: Systematically improving voice therapy outcomes is challenging as the clinician actions (i.e., active ingredients) responsible for improved patient functioning (i.

Update on Clinical Characteristics of Upper Airway Dyspnea: A Mixed Methods Study.

Objectives: Provide a mixed-methods update on clinical presentation of patients with upper airway dyspnea (UAD).

Study Design: Prospective, multicenter, mixed-methods study.

Methods: Data were collected from 30 patients presenting to two tertiary ENT clinics with a chief complaint of dyspnea.

A Comparison of Voice Therapy Attendance Rates Between In-Person and Telepractice.

Purpose: This study sought to investigate whether a significant difference exists in attendance, cancellations, and no-shows between in-person therapy and telepractice. The authors hypothesized that telepractice no-show and cancellation rates would be less than in-person no-show and cancellation rates.

Method: This retrospective study manually reviewed and analyzed attendance, no-show, and cancellation data over a 3-month span of in-person-only visits (September 2019-November 2019) and a 3-month span of telepractice visits (September 2020-November 2020) conducted at the Emory Voice Center, a tertiary care practice in urban Atlanta, Georgia.

Assessing Candidacy for Conversation Training Therapy: The Role of Patient Perception.

Objective: Voice therapy is the primary treatment modality for voice rehabilitation. Specific patient-ability factors beyond patient-characteristic factors (eg, disorder diagnosis, age, etc.), that influence individual patient responses to voice treatment remain largely unknown.

Effect of Behavioral Cough Suppression Therapy Delivered via Telehealth.

Objectives/hypothesis: Behavioral cough suppression therapy (BCST) has demonstrated up to 88% effectiveness at treating refractory chronic cough (RCC). With onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with many other medical services, BCST shifted to telehealth delivery. Our group hypothesized that BCST delivered via telemedicine by a specialized Speech-Language Pathologist would be comparable to previously reported response to treatment for in-person settings.

Immediate Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on the Voice.

Objectives: The benefits of mindfulness meditation are well documented. This study evaluated the immediate effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) on the voice and voice user.

Study Design: Prospective experimental study.

Normative Values for the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Healthy Individuals.

Introduction: The primary self-assessment questionnaire used for patients with chronic cough is the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ). The LCQ is a validated questionnaire that ranges in total score from 3 to 21. While it is known that a higher score on the LCQ reflects a better quality of life, normative data have not been reported for this questionnaire.

Clinician and Patient Perception of a Voice Therapy Program Utilizing a Variably Occluded Face Mask: A Pilot Study.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to assess clinician and patient feedback about voice therapy using a variably occluded face mask (VOFM) and to determine if voice therapy augmented via a VOFM would result in favorable changes in patient self-perceived handicap, as well as acoustic and aerodynamic measures.

Methods/design: This pilot study used a prospective, pre-post single group design. Eleven patients with dysphonia due to primary muscle tension dysphonia (8) or benign vocal fold lesions (3) were recruited.

Vocal Acoustics and Aerodynamics During Scripted Reading Compared to Spontaneous Speech.

Background: Examination of vocal acoustics and phonatory aerodynamics during connected speech provide a more ecologically valid approach to voice assessment than single phoneme measures. The purpose of the current investigation was to determine if differences exist in vocal acoustics and aerodynamics between reading and spontaneous speech tasks in patients with common voice disorders.

Methods: The Emory University Institutional Review Board approved this retrospective study.

Evaluation and Management Outcomes and Burdens in Patients with Refractory Chronic Cough Referred for Behavioral Cough Suppression Therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the typical symptoms and medical management characteristics of adult patients with refractory chronic cough (RCC) who are referred to speech-language pathology (SLP) for behavioral cough suppression therapy (BCST) in order to estimate cost-effectiveness and efficiency of current practice patterns for this population.

Methods: One hundred sixty-four (164) patients with RCC referred for BCST were surveyed. Patients completed an initial survey at BCST onset related to symptom pattern and prior treatment, including the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ).

Phonation Resistance Training Exercises (PhoRTE) With and Without Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) For Patients With Presbyphonia: A Noninferiority Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: Presbyphonia negatively impacts quality of life in patients with age-related voice changes. A proof-of-concept study showed promise for high vocal intensity exercise to treat presbyphonia, which became the basis for a novel intervention for age-related voice changes known as Phonation Resistance Training Exercises (PhoRTE). Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) has also been proposed as an additional intervention to target and strengthen the aging respiratory system; however, EMST has undergone limited evaluation as an adjunct treatment for elderly patients undergoing voice therapy for presbyphonia.

Cannabis Consumption Among Patients With a Voice Disorder: A Multicenter E-Survey Study.

Introduction: Legalization of cannabis consumption in the United States (U.S.) has increased rapidly, impacting consumption rates in the general U.

Conversation Training Therapy: Let's Talk It Through.

This article introduces a novel approach to voice therapy called conversation training therapy (CTT). CTT is the first voice therapy approach to remove the therapeutic hierarchy common in most treatment programs. Rather, CTT uses patient-driven conversation as the sole stimuli in therapy to increase perceptual awareness of voice production in conversational speech.

Characterizing postoperative physiologic swallow function following transoral robotic surgery for early stage tonsil, base of tongue, and unknown primary human papillomavirus-associated squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Data objectively evaluating acute post-transoral robotic surgery (TORS) swallow function are limited. Our goal was to characterize and identify clinical variables that may impact swallow function components 3 weeks post-TORS.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study.

Beauty and Attractiveness in the Human Voice.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the difference between vocal beauty and vocal attractiveness by determining whether perceptual ratings of vocal beauty and vocal attractiveness could be dissociated in a cohort of normal raters without a diagnosed sexual desire disorder.

Methods: Twenty five gay male participants were presented with randomly-chosen samples from the Geneva Voices and Faces Database, and were asked to rate each sample in terms of beauty, attractiveness for a relationship of short duration, and attractiveness for a relationship of long duration. Responses were recorded on a visual analog scale (0-100) using a touch-screen interface.

Phonation With a Variably Occluded Facemask: Effects of Task Duration.

Objective: Semioccluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises are routinely included in many voice therapy programs because they have been shown to improve acoustic, aerodynamic, and patient-reported voice outcomes. One limitation of the traditional SOVT exercise is that the nature of phonation through straws or semioccluded oral postures allows only for single phoneme production. A variably occluded facemask (VOFM) allows for use of articulated connected speech beyond the production of single phonemes, while still providing occlusion and, presumably, the vocal efficiency benefits that arise from it.

Telemedicine and the Interdisciplinary Clinic Model: During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the subsequent need for physical distancing have necessitated a swift change in health care delivery. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, many institutions utilized an interdisciplinary clinic model including both a laryngologist and a speech-language pathologist for the evaluation of patients with voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders. To improve access, many providers are pursuing the use of interdisciplinary telemedicine to provide individualized patient-centered care while allowing for physical distancing.

Do Phonatory Aerodynamic and Acoustic Measures in Connected Speech Differ Between Vocally Healthy Adults and Patients Diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia?

Objectives: One of the presumed etiologies of primary muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is a respiratory-phonatory disruption resulting in poor phonatory airflow in speech; however, few data exist on the differences between vocally healthy adults and patients diagnosed with MTD. The goal of this study was to compare aerodynamic and acoustic measures of self-perceived vocally healthy adults with patients diagnosed with MTD.

Study Design: Retrospective, observational, matched cohort study.

The prevalence of cognitive impairment in laryngology treatment-seeking patients.

Objectives/hypothesis: The incidence of cognitive impairment (CI) in the elderly general population is 10% to 20%. The incidence of CI in the elderly laryngology treatment-seeking population is unknown, and CI may impact decision making for elective medical/surgical treatment and negatively impact the outcome of voice/swallowing therapy. We sought to determine the prevalence of CI in elderly patients who are seeking laryngology care and to evaluate the feasibility of administering a cognitive screening instrument.