The vocal aerodynamic change in female patients with muscular tension dysphonia after voice training

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the changes of vocal aerodynamics indicators after voice training in female patients with muscular tension dysphonia (MTD).

Methods: Twenty-one female MTD patients (before voice training and 12 weeks after voice training) and 20 female volunteers with normal voices (the control group) received vocal aerodynamic analysis. Parameters included subglottal pressure (SGP), aerodynamic power (AP), mean expiratory airflow (MEA), and maximum phonation time (MPT) were recorded and analyzed by phonatory aerodynamic system.

Results: Before voice training, the median SGP and mean AP were higher than control group, whereas median MPT was shorter, and these differences were statistically significant. After 12 weeks of voice training, the median SGP and mean AP were decreased and the median MPT was increased compared with the measurements obtained before training, and these differences were statistically significant. The differences of median SGP, mean AP, mean MEA, and median MPT between MTD after 12 weeks of training and control group were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Voice training is an effective treatment for MTD patients. Aerodynamic analysis can effectively evaluate the vocal functional status of MTD patients before and after training, which is beneficial for the treatment efficacy evaluation.

Keywords: Muscular tension dysphonia; Vocal aerodynamic analysis; Voice training.