Surgery

Biography

Biography: Susanna Simberg

Abstract

Voice disorders are common but most available methods for therapeutic treatment and are not fully scientifically explored. Phonation into glass tubes, keeping the free end of the tube in water, has been a frequently used voice therapy method in Finland since the 1960s, and more recently also in other countries. This method is used in voice therapy for different groups of patients, such as patients with functional voice disorders, vocal nodules and patient suffers from incomplete vocal fold closure, for example due to recurrent laryngeal nerve paresis. Earlier results have suggested that the method affects the vocal apparatus in various ways. It has been proposed that the training alters vocal fold vibratory patterns, collision threshold pressure and the vertical position of the larynx. The method also increases and modulates the intraoral pressure, and both the magnitudes of the pressure variations as well as the average pressure increase are directly related to the water depth. This workshop consists of two parts (45+30 min). The first part gives a clinical demonstration of the resonance tube method and presents some examples on how it can be used in various ways depending on the kind of voice disorder and the aims of the therapy. The second part will give an overview of previous results and on-going research on the method, enabling the participants to interpret the rationale of this voice therapy method with regards to current knowledge. 10 participants can take active part in the workshop, while 30 can be in the audience.