Background: Symptoms of Voice Disorders involve a disruption in the loudness, pitch, and/or quality of an individual’s voice when attempting to talk or sing. This disruption may result in an inability to communicate effectively. Pain, increased effort to create sound, and fatigue are symptoms that accompany voice difficulties. Although there are well-validated instruments for measuring sound impairment (acoustic and aerodynamic measures) and functional problems of the voice system, the degree to which pain, effort, and fatigue contribute to voice disorders lacks thorough validation in the clinical population.

This research proposes to establish a protocol to elicit vocal effort, gather normative data on those with voice disorders and those without voice disorders, and compare the measure of vocal effort with other commonly used measures of voice impairment (acoustic measures and auditory perceptual measures of vocal quality as judged by expert listeners), as it relates to subjects with various voice disorders.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to begin the process of validating a system that will aid in establishing a protocol for measuring vocal effort for various voice disorder groups, as well as a measurement for the degree in which pain, effort, and fatigue influence voice disorders. Specifically, the research has 3 specific aims: 1) establish a protocol for obtaining a measure of vocal effort for various voice disorder groups, 2) gather normative data on those with voice disorders and healthy control participants, and 3) compare measures of vocal effort with other commonly used measures of voice impairment.

Background: Approximately one-third of the global work force requires the integrity of the voice in order to work efficiently. Voice disorders often result in changes in vocal quality, loudness, and pitch. This disruption can inhibit an individual’s ability to communicate effectively. While voice problems of singers, professional speakers, and teachers, have been well studied, voice issues of pastors, priests, and other various clergy have not been extensively evaluated.

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to identify various factors that may place clergy at risk for voice disorders. The study will focus specifically on voice use, vocal habits, drinking habits, building acoustics, congregation size, whether amplification devices are generally used, and how many services per day/per week are performed. In addition, part of the questionnaire will include a validated screening index for voice disorders (SIVD) as to tool to allow quantification and stratification of risk across the study groups.

Background: Approximately one-third of the global work force requires good voice function in order to work efficiently. Voice Disorders are typically caused by disruptive structural changes in the vocal cords of the larynx (voice box). The changes can affect loudness, pitch, projection, and overall of quality thereby impairing an individual’s ability to communicate effectively. Teachers have previously been identified as a group of voice professionals for whom the risk of voice disorders is high. Moreover, some research suggests that voice quality of a teacher can have a significant impact on the ability for students to learn. This research will compare voice risks based on classroom size, vocal load during the day, use of amplification, and design of the classroom, as well as factors related to voice use outside of teaching activities.

Objectives: The aim of this research is to identify and compare risk factors for voice disorders amongst teachers in an urban environment

Background: The term vocal cord dysfunction has been used by clinicians to describe a variety of conditions including paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFM). There has been prior documentation of a relationship of mental health issues, primarily anxiety, and PVFM. As a result of this information our clinical practice began incorporating mental health screening tools into our assessments for patients diagnosed with PVFM. The tools used in our practice include the Life Events Checklist (LEC) and the PTSM Checklist (PCL).

Objectives: The purpose of this 16 patient retrospective pilot study is to determine if there is a trend between patients what have experienced emotional trauma as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) and PVFM.