This study investigated whether trachea pressures during brass instrument play of laryngectomised patients are within the range of those measured during tracheoesophageal voicing, and whether application of an automatic speaking valve can 'free' both hands to play a brass instrument. Objective assessment of voicing and music playing parameters was carried out in 2 laryngectomised patients with ...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neuro-degenerative disorder caused by the damage or loss of dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra of the brain. This deficiency in the dopamine affects the neurotransmitter systems which are responsible for a variety of motor and non-motor deficits. The motor and non-motor deficits involve areas such as speech, EEG, gait, mood, sensation, thinkin...

PURPOSE To analyze the impact of body weight and body fat volume on selected parameters of vocal quality, phonatory range, and aerodynamics in females. METHODS Based on measurements of body mass index in combination with body fat volume, 29 normophonic female subjects were classified as normal weight, underweight, and obese. Voice quality was investigated via auditory-perceptual ratings of br...

OBJECTIVES Bilateral vocal fold abductor paralysis (BVFAP) both deteriorates quality of life and may cause life-threatening respiratory problems. The aim of this study was to reduce respiratory symptoms in BVFAP patients using cricothyroid (CT) botulinum toxin (BTX) injection. METHODS Before and 2 weeks and 4 months after bilateral BTX injection into the CT muscles under electromyography; alt...

Seventeen healthy women, 45 to 61 years old, were examined using videofiberstroboscopy during phonation at three loudness levels. Two phoniatricians evaluated glottal closure using category and ratio scales. Transglottal airflow was studied by inverse filtering of the oral airflow signal recorded in a flow mask (Glottal Enterprises System) during the spoken phrase /ba:pa:pa:pa:p/ at three loudn...

BACKGROUND Total pharyngolaryngectomy is potentially ablative surgery, resulting in compromise of some most basic functions of life, including speech and swallowing. Tracheoesophageal puncture is the gold standard for voice restoration. But it still has prosthesis-related problems. OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS We designed a uniquely customized radial forearm free flap (RFFF), which also incorporated...

Tracheoesophageal (TE) speech has been the current preferred treatment for speech rehabilitation after total laryngectomy, but due to the lack of objective evaluation criteria, it is tough to operate a qualitative analysis on the effects of postoperative speech rehabilitation. The present paper advanced an objective evaluation system involving acoustic characteristics parameters such as fundame...