Voice Disorders

Question 1

what does voice reflect about ourselves?

Answer 1

• gender
• age
• personality characteristics
• emotion and feelings

Question 2

pitch

Answer 2

FREQUENCY
rate of VF vibrations
measured in hertz (Hz)

Question 3

male Fo

Answer 3

130 Hz

Question 4

female Fo

Answer 4

250 Hz

Question 5

Fo children

Answer 5

400+ Hz

Question 6

intensity

Answer 6

LOUDNESS

physical process of increasing subglottal air pressure during voicing

Question 7

how can we increase intensity (subglottal air pressure)

Answer 7

• push more air from lungs

- hyper-adducting VFs

Question 8

optimal pitch

Answer 8

rate at which VFs vibrate best=Fo

Question 9

what happens when you try to make VFs vibrate far from their Fo?

Answer 9

• vibrates for a shorter amount of time

- more stress and strain

Question 10

organic voice disorders

Answer 10

have a physical ideology

Question 11

functional voice disorders

Answer 11

occurs because of a person’s behaviors

-vocal misuse or abuse

Question 12

monotone

Answer 12

• little or no variation in pitch

- organic

Question 13

inappropriate pitch

Answer 13

• pitch is too high or too low
• outside of normal pitch range for age and gender (and far from person’s actual Fo)
• usually functional

Question 14

pitch breaks

Answer 14

• sudden movements in pitch, upward or downward

- usually organic

Question 15

monoloudness

Answer 15

• lack of variation in vocal intensity

- usually organic (RH disorders, advanced parkinson’s)

Question 16

loudness variations

Answer 16

• extremes of loudness, usually due to loss of neurological control of voice
• usually organic
• hyperkinetic dysarthria

Question 17

loudness VS pitch disorders: which is less common?

Answer 17

loudness disorders are less common

• they are often the result of neurological problems
• either reduce awareness of voice or reduce control of voice

Question 18

breathiness

Answer 18

air escapes VFs, creating audible sound and whisper like quality (VFs don’t fully close)
-either organic or functional

Question 19

how can breathiness be organic?

Answer 19

-VF paralysis (brainstem stroke, surgery, etc)

Question 20

vocal tremor

Answer 20

• a high degree of cycle to cycle variation (jitter)

- usually organic (parkinson’s, cerebellar damage)

Question 21

strain and struggle

Answer 21

• difficulty initiating voice, accompanied by visible stress in production
• usually organic

Question 22

hoarseness

Answer 22

• rough, somewhat breathy voice, cause by aperiodic vibration of VFs
• functional or organic
• functional may be due to speaking far from optimal pitch

Question 23

harshness

Answer 23

• rough, hard attack voice, usually without significant breathiness
• functional or organic

Question 24

what are nonphonatory disorders

Answer 24

disorders that occur outside of speaking

Question 25

stridor

Answer 25

• sound that acompanies inhalation and/or exhalation

- VFs are approximated when they should be open

Question 26

aphonia

Answer 26

• absence of voice
• consistent or episodic
• mostly organic but can be functional

Question 27

vocal nodules

Answer 27

• local growths that occur due to consistent hard VF collisions
• nodules are benign

Question 28

where are vocal nodules usually found?

Answer 28

-anterior 1/3 of VFs

Question 29

contact ulcers

Answer 29

• usually found on posterior portion of VFs
• probably due to reflux in most cases (organic-burns VFs)
• results in hoarseness and breathiness

Question 30

vocal polyps

Answer 30

• ruptured, swollen blood vessels in VFs
• often the result of vocal misuse (functional)
• can be sessile (directly on VFs) or pedunculated (on a stalk)

Question 31

laryngitis

Answer 31

• inflammation of VFs
• can result from exposure to noxious substances (organic)
• or vocal misuse (functional)