View clinical trials related to Dysphonia.
Filter by:This study aims to investigate whether there is a difference between groups receiving "group voice therapy" and "individual voice therapy" in pediatric populations diagnosed with dysphonia. In this context, the goal is to comprehensively examine the effectiveness of "group voice therapy" in pediatric populations compared to similar studies in the literature. In line with this objective, it is aimed to comprehensively test its effectiveness by including perceptual and acoustic evaluation findings, objective and subjective assessments, and incorporating comparison and control groups into the study, as compared to similar studies in the literature.
The general aim of the study is to provide evidence for usability and feasibility of applying vibro-tactile stimulation (VTS) at home as a non-invasive form of neuromodulation to improve speech in people with spasmodic dysphonia (SD). This work addresses a clinical need to develop alternative or auxiliary treatments for a rare voice disorder with very limited treatment options. Successful completion of the proposed work will be an important step in advancing laryngeal VTS as a therapeutic intervention for improving voice symptoms in SD.
The first objective of this research project is to compare the occurrence and frequency of symptoms and/or disorders related to autonomic dysfunction in patients with functional dysphonia with gender- and age-matched vocally healthy controls, using a case-control study. The second objective is to compare the effects of a novel therapy based on autonomic nervous system regulation (i.e., ANS therapy: heart rate variability biofeedback), for functional dysphonia versus coventional voice therapy (CVT) alone or in combination with ANS regulation therapy (i.e., ANS therapy + CVT), using a longitudinal randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Following a thyroidectomy, voice and swallowing alterations, which more frequently would appear to be caused by lesions of the laryngeal nerve, may occur. But, voice and swallowing changes can also occur in the absence of lesions of the inferior laryngeal nerve or the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, defining a condition called central compartment syndrome or functional post-thyroidectomy syndrome. It has been demonstrated that, in the presence of the aforementioned syndrome, the quality of the voice undergoes a deterioration immediately after thyroidectomy surgery with a lowering of pitch. The purpose of this study will be to verify the effects of early speech therapy, including pre-operative speech therapy counseling (during which the patient will be provided with indications to be implemented in the immediate post-operative period).
The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the evolution of voice technology, progresses in audio signal analysis, and natural language processing/understanding methods have opened the way to numerous potential applications of voice, such as the identification of vocal biomarkers for diagnosis, classification or to enhance clinical practice. More recently, researches focused on the role of the audio signal of the voice as a signature of the pathogenic process. Dysphonia indicates that some negative changes have occurred in the voice production. The overall prevalence of dysphonia is approximately 1% even if the actual rates may be higher depending on the population studied and the definition of the specific voice disorder. Voice health may be assessed by several acoustic parameters. The relationship between voice pathology and acoustic voice features has been clinically established and confirmed both quantitatively and subjectively by speech experts. The automatic systems are designed to determine whether the sample belongs to a healthy subject or a non-healthy subject. The exactness of acoustic parameters is linked to the features used to estimate them for speech noise identification. Current voice searches are mostly restricted to basic questions even if with broad perspectives. The literature on vocal biomarkers of specific vocal fold diseases is anecdotal and related to functional vocal fold disorders or rare movement disorders of the larynx . The most common causes of dysphonia are the Benign Lesions of the Vocal Fold (BLVF). Currently, videolaryngostroboscopy, although invasive, is the gold standard for the diagnosis of BLVF. However, it is invasive and expensive procedure. The novel ML algorithms have recently improved the classification accuracy of selected features in target variables when compared to more conventional procedures thanks to the ability to combine and analyze large data-sets of voice features. Even if the majority of studies focus on the diagnosis of a disorder where they differentiate between healthy and non-healthy subjects, the investigators believe that the more important task is frequently differential diagnosis between two or more diseases. Even though this is a challenging task, it is of crucial importance to move decision support to this level. The main aim of this research would be the study, development, and validation of ML algorithms to recognize the different BVLVFL from digital voice recordings.
The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the cortical silent period (cSP) in cricothyroid muscle (CT) in laryngeal dystonia and control healthy subjects. The study will provide norms related to latency and amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and duration of cSP in CT muscle in laryngeal dystonia and control healthy subjects. Findings may give a baseline in comparison to findings in laryngeal diseases and insight into maladaptive cortical control function during phonation in laryngeal diseases like laryngeal dystonia.
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure used to treat tremors, and dystonia. This study will enroll people who have a form of focal dystonia that affects their vocal cords called Adductor Laryngeal dystonia (ADLD). Participants will undergo Deep Brain Stimulation surgery to treat laryngeal dystonia as part of their clinical care. Before surgery, as part of the study they will have specialized testing to study the movement of the vocal cords, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). While in the operating room, researchers will examine brain waves to better understand how faulty brain firing patterns lead to dystonia. After surgery, and activation of the deep brain stimulator, participants will repeat speech testing and vocal cord imaging as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
This proof-of-concept study is designed to evaluate whether a pedagogic technique used to help performers, known as the Complete Vocal Technique (CVT), can be used to help patients with a type of voice disorder known as Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD). MTD is responsible for up to 40% of patients presenting with voice and throat complaints. MTD is due to inefficient or ineffective voice production resulting from an imbalance in the control of the breathing mechanism, and uncontrolled constriction of the muscles in the larynx (voice box) or vocal tract (throat space above the vocal cords). Standard treatment is Voice Therapy delivered by a specialist Speech Therapist (SLT-V) often using a video link (telepractice aka telehealth). CVT is widely used in Europe by singers and vocal coaches. Practitioners (CVT- Ps) undergo a three-year accredited training programme, and the systematic and structured approach helps healthy singers and other performers optimise the function of the voice to produce any sound required. It also helps if the performer has vocal problems, which are also mainly due to uncontrolled throat constrictions. The purpose of this pilot study is to see if the CVT voice therapy approach (CVT-VT) can help, and offers advantages, to standard SLT-V methods in the treatment of patients with MTD. Ten adult patients will be recruited from the Voice clinic at Nottingham University Hospital. Participants will have a multidimensional assessment using questionnaires, and voice recordings and then receive up to 6 video sessions of CVT-VT delivered using a video link by a CVT-P. The participants will then be reviewed back in clinic at 8 weeks and be reassessed, using further questionnaires and analysis of the voice pre- and post-therapy recordings, to evaluate the outcome of this treatment approach. Qualitative methodology will determine whether CVT-VT offers any therapeutic advantages to existing SLT-VT treatment methods.
To investigate the change in fundamental frequency range and vocal fold stability achievable with vocal fold stretching exercise in human populations with high and low vocal activity
This research involves retrospective and prospective studies for clinical validation of a DystoniaNet deep learning platform for the diagnosis of isolated dystonia.