View clinical trials related to Muscle Tension Dysphonia.
Filter by:The goal of this study is to evaluate if using evidence-based, standard ingredient and target codes from the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System - Voice Therapy (RTSS-Voice) in standard of care voice therapy documentation can improve outcomes for patients with muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). The main question it aims to answer is: Since the RTSS-Voice will help clinicians think about their treatment more specifically and in relation to nine evidence-based therapies, will its adoption be associated with improved outcomes? Clinicians across five voice centers will be asked to use the RTSS-Voice to document their voice therapy sessions for patients with MTD. Researchers will compare changes in outcomes between two groups of patients: those treated during the clinician's first year using the RTSS-Voice versus those treated during the clinician's second year using the RTSS-Voice.
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).
Vocal hyperfunction (VH) is the most commonly treated class of voice disorders by speech-language pathologists and voice therapy is the primary curative treatment. Patients and clinicians report that generalizing improved voicing into daily life is the most significant barrier to successful therapy. We will test if extending biofeedback into the patient's daily life using ambulatory voice monitoring will significantly improve generalization during therapy and if individual patient factors, like how easily they can modify their voice and engagement during therapy, moderate the effects of the biofeedback.
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.
The purpose of this study is to assess subjects with muscle tension dysphonia for perceived effort and acoustic effects of gargle phonation compared to baseline and a sham water swallow.
A feasibility study to identify the immediate effect on the voices of patients with voice disorders (muscle tension dysphonia, vocal fold palsy or presbylaryngis) produced by exercising with Acapella Choice as a form of semioccluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE).
Primary muscle tension dysphonia is a voice disorder that involves excessive and poorly coordinated muscle activity affecting multiple subsystems that are involved in speech production, in the absence of structural or neurologic abnormalities of the larynx. Primary muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is one of the most common forms of voice disorders, accounting for at least 40% of patients seen in voice clinics. Perceptually the voice sounds hoarse and strained, with reduced loudness and pitch range, and people with MTD find speaking very effortful and fatiguing. The physiological abnormalities that characterize MTD are considered multifactorial, and include over-activity of muscles in and around the larynx, laryngeal constriction patterns, and abnormal speech breathing patterns. However, standard treatment approaches for MTD primarily address laryngeal function, including repositioning of laryngeal structures, reducing activity in the intrinsic and extrinsic laryngeal muscles, and altering vibratory patterns. Although voice improvement may follow these treatments, many people with MTD show recurrence of voice problems after only a few months, and some do not improve with treatment. These findings highlight the need for alternative treatments that address the respiratory contributions to MTD, which directly affect the phonatory system. The goal of this project is to compare the effects of two respiratory-based training conditions in people with MTD. A randomized group design will be implemented to determine the respiratory and acoustic effects of each condition. We will determine the effects of each condition immediately after and then 3 and 6 months after training completion to assess short- and long-term training effects. We propose that respiratory training will have a positive effect on related laryngeal behavior and voice. The proposed project has the potential to substantially advance the evidence-based treatment options for MTD, providing a vital step toward reducing the debilitating effects of this disorder.
Patients with vocal hyperfunction will undergo standard of care voice therapy with ambulatory voice monitoring before therapy and after the first 3 voice therapy sessions. Biofeedback will be added to ambulatory monitoring after the 2nd voice therapy session only.
The contribution of genetic risk factors to the development of focal dystonias is evident. However, understanding of how variations in the causative gene expression lead to variations in brain abnormalities in different phenotypes of dystonia (e.g., familial, sporadic) remains limited. The research program of the investigators is set to determine the relationship between brain changes and genetic risk factors in laryngeal dystonia (or spasmodic dysphonia). The researchers use a novel approach of combined imaging genetics, next-generation DNA sequencing, and clinical-behavioral testing. The use of a cross-disciplinary approach as a tool for the discovery of the mediating neural mechanisms that bridge the gap from DNA sequence to the pathophysiology of dystonia holds a promise for the understanding of the mechanistic aspects of brain function affected by risk gene variants, which can be used reliably for the discovery of associated genes and neural integrity markers for this disorder. The expected outcome of this study may lead to better clinical management of this disorder, including its improved detection, accurate diagnosis, and assessment of the risk of developing dystonia in family members.
The purposes of the proposed study are: a) to determine whether Flow Phonation can decrease Laryngeal Resistance (Rlaw) in patients with Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD); and b)establish the relationship between changes in measures of Rlaw and phonatory airflow to endoscopic, perceptual, acoustic, and handicap assessment ratings. MTD can have a debilitating effect on individuals who rely on their voices the most—teachers, preachers,salespeople, singers—costing them time, money, and even their jobs. It can lead to vocal fatigue, pain, and complete loss of voice. While treatments have emerged with some promising effects, no treatments have proven to have long-term benefits to all patients. Our preliminary data demonstrate Flow Phonation training resulted in significant decreases in Laryngeal Resistance to phonatory airflow with associated improvements in voice quality and voice handicap ratings. Sample size for our pilot study was small; no control group was utilized; and outcome measures were limited. In the proposed investigation, a larger sample will be obtained, a control group of participants receiving only Vocal Hygiene Training will be used for comparison during the first 3 weeks, and a wider range of outcome measures will be included over a longer period of time (1 year).