Sensory Function in Idiopathic Voice Disorders

Exclusion criteria

• ✕. Increased phonatory muscle tension in the paralaryngeal and suprahyoid muscles on palpation.
• ✕. Constant elevation of the larynx in the neck during speech.
• ✕. A consistent hypertonic laryngeal posture for phonation, either an open posterior glottic chink between the arytenoid cartilages on phonation, an anterior-posterior squeeze (pinhole posture) or ventricular hyperadduction.
• ✕. A normal appearing larynx.
• ✕. Cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, otolaryngological, psychiatric or speech and hearing problems as determined by medical history and examination by a physician. Any patient with a history of airway obstruction will be excluded from the study.
• ✕. Reduction in the range of vocal fold movement during non-speech tasks such as whistling suggesting either paralysis or paresis, joint abnormality or neoplasm.
• ✕. Intermittent symptoms during their initial interview, reports of periods of symptom remission or spasmodic breaks in voicing typical or either adductor or abductor spasmodic dysphonia.
• ✕. A 30 dB HL screening between 500 and 3000 Hz will be conducted if subjects report difficulty following spoken instructions and a history of hearing loss or significant noise exposure.