Communication After Laryngectomy

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Communication After Laryngectomy Radiol Oncol 2001; 35(4): 249-54. Communication after laryngectomy Irena Hočevar-Boltežar and Miha Žargi Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery, University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia Background. Laryngectomy is the mode of treatment of the patients with advanced laryngeal and hy- popharyngeal cancer. It affects many important functions, including speech. Patients and methods. Various alaryngeal speech modes are available so that no laryngectomee should be left without a means of communication. Results. There is a variety of artificial devices, including electronic ones that produce their own battery driv- en sound. Alternatively, the patient can learn a new form of voicing using a muscular segment of the upper esophagus as a source of sound (esophageal speech). A puncture can be created surgically through the esophageal wall and a prosthesis placed in it to divert pulmonary air into the esophagus and through the same muscular segment to produce sound. Conclusions. Many factors influence the choice of an alternative to be used with a particular patient. In Slovenia, esophageal speech is the most frequently used alaryngeal speech mode. Key words: laryngeal neoplasms; laryngectomy; speech, alaryngeal; speech, esophageal Epidemiology and etiology of laryngeal and disease was discovered in a localized stage. In hypopharyngeal cancer all other patients, the malignant disease was in an advanced stage and required more ag- Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers are gressive treatment.1 quite common in Slovenia. In 1995 they rep- Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers resented 1.9 % of all new malignant diseases usually occur in men aged 50-65 years with a in Slovenia. The incidence of laryngeal cancer long history of tobacco consumption fre- was 9.1/100.000 inhabitants in men, and quently associated with alcohol abuse. The al- 0.5/100.000 inhabitants in women. The inci- cohol-related nutritional deficiencies could be dence of hypopharyngeal cancer was involved in the etiology of these cancers.1,2 As 4.5/100.000 inhabitants in men, and a result, the patients often present with no- 0.3/100.000 inhabitants in women. In 55 % of table co-morbidities. In addition, the socio- patients with laryngeal cancer and only 12 % of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer, the Correspondence to: Irena Hočevar-Boltežar, MD, PhD, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery, Zaloška 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Received 15 October 2001 Phone: +386 1 522 24 65; Fax: +386 1 52 24 815; E-mail: Accepted 10 November 2001 [email protected] 250 Hočevar-Boltežar I and Žargi M /Communication after laryngectomy cultural level is rather poor in the majority of quisition, which showed that 26 % of their la- cases. This particular characteristic of laryn- ryngectomy study group were able to acquire geal and hypopharyngeal cancer patients ex- ES.6 In a more recent prospective study, plains the delay in diagnosis and the prob- Hillman et al. found that only 6 % of their pa- lems linked to treatment compliance. tients developed usable ES.12 ES is produced by compressing the air into the esophagus; the released air vibrates the Laryngectomy and its consequences pharyngeal-esophageal segment and pro- duces the esophageal tone used for speech. Laryngectomy is a surgical procedure usually The sound produced enters the oral cavity reserved for patients with advanced laryngeal where it is articulated and shaped into words. or hypopharyngeal carcinoma or patients Generally, there are three primary meth- who fail radiation treatment.3 Loosing the lar- ods used to teach esophageal speech: conso- ynx means adapting to a living without some nant injection, glossopharyngeal press, and basics that characterize us as human. inhalation. Regardless the method used, the Respiration and speech are altered for ever; goals are for the patient to be able to im- swallowing needs to be re-learned; smell and pound rapidly the air into the esophagus, ex- taste are attenuated; lifting, straining and pel it from there in a controlled manner, and coughing (all of which are dependent on a produce fluent ES. Esophageal speakers have closed glottis) are compromised. Although a much lower air reservoir (less than 100 cm3) there are numerous potential problems (emo- than is available to laryngeal speakers from tional, psychological, physical, economic, so- the lungs (even > 5 litres). The small air sup- cial, surgical, and communicative), the inabil- ply will limit the esophageal speaker’s ability ity to speak is considered the greatest of the to produce long utterances on a single charge difficulties the patient is faced by.4 of air. The advantages of the ES are: • The sound of ES is more natural and closer Voice restoration after laryngectomy to the laryngeal voice. • ES requires no dependence on mechanical After the removal of the larynx, the patient no instrument. longer has a source of sound for speaking. • The patient is able to achieve some meas- Currently, there are two categories of sound ure of pitch and loudness control, and restoration: alternative “natural” sound sour- good esophageal speakers are able to vary ces and mechanical speech aids. The former these dynamically during speech. category utilizes esophageal and tracheoeso- • Both hands are free during speech. phageal speech, whereas the latter an elec- tronic artificial larynx.5 ES has also some disadvantages: • ES must be learnt and may take a long time to master it. Some patients may nev- Esophageal speech (ES) er learn to produce functional ES even af- ES traditionally has been the dominant ap- ter much effort. proach to laryngeal speech rehabilitation. • A person’s ability to articulate clearly must Some retrospective studies demonstrated a be good, otherwise the intelligibility of ES range of success from 12 % to 97 %.6-11 In may be poor. 1982, Gates et al. published the results from • The patient may have difficulty being the first prospective investigation of ES ac- heard above back-ground noise.5 Radiol Oncol 2001; 35(4): 249-54. Hočevar-Boltežar I and Žargi M /Communication after laryngectomy 251 Tracheoesophageal speech (TES) • TES is smooth and fluent because of the The tracheoesophageal puncture method, cou- availability of pulmonary air. pled with the use of the voice prosthesis, was • Loudness and pitch variation is possible. introduced by Singer and Bloom in 1980.13 The • The approach is feasible in most of the la- surgery may be performed at the time of the la- ryngectomized patients and is also re- ryngectomy (primary procedure), or it may be versible if so desired. performed at a later date (secondary proce- dure). Early studies, focused on carefully se- The disadvantages of TES are: lected groups of patients who underwent the • The insertion of the voice prosthesis re- insertion of a prosthesis as a secondary proce- quires another surgical procedure if not dure, reported success rates ranging from 56% done together with the laryngectomy. to 93 %.14-16 More recent studies, which have • Occasional aspiration due to poorly seated focused on the insertion of a prosthesis as a prosthesis, or poorly functioning prosthe- primary procedure, have reported acquisition sis is possible. rates ranging from 30 % to 93 %.17-19 • A buildup of candida deposits requires fre- In this approach, a small, silicone, valved quent cleaning. prosthesis is inserted into a surgically created • The functioning period of the prosthesis is midline tracheoesophageal fistula. The uni-di- limited.5,21 rectional valved prosthesis is designed to maintain tract patency and protect against as- Artificial larynx (AL) piration. The patient can divert pulmonary air from the trachea (by occluding the tra- Previous reports of AL use among laryngecto- cheostoma with a finger) through the prosthe- my patients vary in many aspects. The esti- sis, thereby creating a sound in the pharyngo- mates of AL use range from 5 % to 66 %.6,22,23 esophageal segment. The air pressures This device uses electric power to drive a vi- required to force open the slit of the valve brator that provides the sound source. It gen- range between 2 and 25 cm H2O and depend erates a sound with approximately the same on the rate of airflow from the lungs and the frequency as is the fundamental laryngeal fre- type of the device used.20 Some patients may quency. One type of the device consists of a have considerable difficulty producing the tube that delivers sound from the vibrator to pressures. In these cases, a lower resistance the mouth. the sound is then articulated in prosthesis is suitable. Special valves are avail- the normal way. Another version consists of a able to avoid manual occlusion of the stoma. hand held vibrator that is designed to deliver These valves close automatically when greater the sound through the skin when placed on than normal thoracic pressures are present as the neck. Until recent years, the AL was con- when the patient wishes to produce speech. sidered to be the method of choice only for There are still contraindications in the se- those patients who were unable to learn ES. lection of patients for the prosthesis inser- Clinical experience has demonstrated that AL tion: inability to care for the stoma, poor man- actually may be helpful in the acquisition of ual dexterity, a stenotic stoma, poor eyesight, ES. AL may serve as a communication bridge esophageal stenosis, and poor patient’s moti- until ES or TES training is initiated. Recent vation. studies from the USA report that a majority The advantages of TES are: of laryngectomees use AL – 55 %.12 • This technique can provide the most rapid restoration of nearly normal speech in The advantages of AL: most of the laryngectomized patients. • It is easy to learn how to use it. Radiol Oncol 2001; 35(4): 249-54. 252 Hočevar-Boltežar I and Žargi M /Communication after laryngectomy • AL provides adequate volume to be heard The intensity of ES is usually lower in over- in noisy places.
Recommended publications
  • Enhancement of Esophageal Speech Using Voice Conversion Techniques Imen Ben Othmane, Joseph Di Martino, Kaïs Ouni
    Enhancement of esophageal speech using voice conversion techniques Imen Ben Othmane, Joseph Di Martino, Kaïs Ouni To cite this version: Imen Ben Othmane, Joseph Di Martino, Kaïs Ouni. Enhancement of esophageal speech using voice conversion techniques. International Conference on Natural Language, Signal and Speech Processing - ICNLSSP 2017, Dec 2017, Casablanca, Morocco. hal-01660580 HAL Id: hal-01660580 https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01660580 Submitted on 11 Dec 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Enhancement of esophageal speech using voice conversion techniques Imen Ben Othmane1;2, Joseph Di Martino2, Kais Ouni1 1Research Unit Signals and Mechatronic Systems, SMS, UR13ES49, National Engineering School of Carthage, ENICarthage University of Carthage, Tunisia 2LORIA - Laboratoire Lorrain de Recherche en Informatique et ses Applications, B.P. 239 54506 Vandœuvre-les-Nancy,` France [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract such as smoothing [3] or comb filtering [4] have been proposed. But it is difficult to improve ES by using those simple modifi- This paper presents a novel approach for enhancing esophageal cation methods because the properties of acoustic features of speech using voice conversion techniques.
    [Show full text]
  • Consonant Intelligibility of Alaryngeal Talkers: Pilot Data* P.C
    CLINICAL ARTICLE Consonant Intelligibility of Alaryngeal Talkers: Pilot Data* P.c. Doyle and J.L Danhauer Abstract Until recently those larygectomized patients who This study investigated the intelligibility of conson­ had met with limited success in acquiring functional eso­ ants produced by two highly proficient and well­ phageal speech were given the sole alternative of using matched alaryngeal talkers, one esophageal (E) and one either externally applied or intraoral artificial laryngeal tracheoesophagea/ (TE). A group of professional and a devices (Salmon and Goldstein, 1979). However, the group of lay listeners orthographically transcribed their recent development of the tracheosophageal (TE) punc­ responses to the speech stimuli. The data were co/­ ture technique (Singer and Blom, 1980) and use of a lapsed into confusion matrices, pooled across listener prosthetic "air shunt" may offer a remarkably successful groups for each talker, and analyzed for the perceptual! and viable alternative for the patient incapable of acquir­ productive features for each talker. The most frequent ing traditional esophageal speech. Further, TE speech perceptual confusion observed for both talkers related has the benefit of being supplied by the pulmonary air to the voicing feature. Based on these pilot data, the TE source, thereby distinguishing it aerodynamically from talker was perceived to be more intelligible than the E the characteristics of esophageal speech. Although both talker. TE and esophageal speech use the pharyngeoesopha­ geal (PE) segment as an alaryngeal voicing source, the Consonant Intelligibility Alaryngeal differences in aerodynamic support and esophageal 0/ insufflation for voicing are critical factors to consider in Talkers: Pilot Data the alaryngeal speech which is ultimately produced.
    [Show full text]
  • Voice Rehabilitation After Laryngectomy Voice Rehabilitation After Laryngectomy
    AIJOC REVIEW ARTICLE Voice Rehabilitation after Laryngectomy Voice Rehabilitation after Laryngectomy 1Audrey B Erman, 2Daniel G Deschler 1Department of Otology and Laryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 2Director, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otology and Laryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Correspondence: Audrey B Erman, Department of Otology and Laryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Abstract Improvements in voice rehabilitation over the past century have paralleled the surgical success of laryngectomy. The establishment of the tracheoesophageal puncture marked a turning point in the development of successful and dependable voice rehabilitation. Surgical options include both primary and secondary placement of a tracheoesophageal puncture. Though complications, such as pharyngoesophageal spasm or prosthesis leakage may occur, patients should expect functional voice restoration after laryngectomy. Keywords: Voice rehabilitation, Laryngectomy, Tracheoesophageal puncture, Pharyngoesophageal spasm. INTRODUCTION mechanical and electric options, and many are still used today as a bridge prior to tracheoesophageal speech. Even in the current era of evolving organ preservation The development of esophageal speech may be attainable protocols for treating laryngeal cancer, total laryngectomy by some patients after laryngectomy. With this technique, continues to play a prominent role in curative treatment air is swallowed into the cervical esophagus and then plans. Soon after the first reports of the laryngectomy expelled, vibrating the patient’s own pharyngoesophageal procedure by Billroth, voice rehabilitation was likewise tissue forming a “pseudoglottis” which produces a introduced as an important element in the treatment of functional, yet limited sound source for speech formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Vocal Yoga: Applying Yoga Principles in Voice Therapy
    Vocal Yoga: Applying Yoga Principles in Voice Therapy Adam Lloyd, Bari Hoffman-Ruddy, Erin Silverman, and Jeffrey L. Lehman ver the past decade, principles of yoga have become inter- woven with contemporary voice therapy and the teaching of singing.1 Key principles of yoga are successfully integrated into warm-ups, cool-downs, range extension, vocal endurance, vocal Oprojection strategies, and articulatory movements for singers and occu- pational voice users. Yoga techniques direct attention toward whole body relaxation, body alignment, and breath coordination during various singing Adam Lloyd Bari Hoffman- and speaking tasks. Ruddy The benefits of yoga are described throughout the health care literature. Incorporating basic yoga postures and breathing techniques decreases stress, alleviates depression, anxiety and pain. Yoga may also improve cardio- vascular, autoimmune, and immunocompromise conditions.2 Significant improvements in diastolic blood pressure, dynamic muscular strength and endurance of the upper body and trunk, flexibility, perceived stress, and the individual’s overall sense of “wellness” have been reported in healthy adults upon implementation of yoga practice.3 Furthermore, improved pulmonary 4 Erin Silverman Jeffrey L. Lehman function has also been extensively reported. Various programs focus on incorporating concepts of yoga into voicing exercises as well as enhancing vocal sounds with yoga postures, or asanas. Over the last decade, increasing numbers of professional singers and teach- ers of singing incorporate yoga into their practice. Several books and articles by experts in voice pedagogy expound upon the benefits of yoga techniques introduced to a singer’s lifestyle and daily practice and exercise regimen. Judith Carman incorporates the Viniyoga style of yoga in her text, Yoga for Singing: A Developmental Tool for Technique and Performance.5 Viniyoga focuses on repetition and coordination with the breath in every practice, physical and mental.
    [Show full text]
  • Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Volume 13: 2
    LANGUAGE IN INDIA Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Volume 13 : 2 February 2013 ISSN 1930-2940 Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D. Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D. Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D. B. A. Sharada, Ph.D. A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D. Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D. Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D. S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D. G. Baskaran, Ph.D. L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D. Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A. Vowel Duration across Age and Dialects of Telugu Language Krishna Y, Ph.D. (Sp. & Hg.), CCC-A B. Rajashekhar, Ph.D. Abstract Vowel duration, one of the important acoustic characteristics, is important in vowel perception. Vowel duration varies based on individual, linguistic and non-linguistic characteristics. This study was to study vowel duration in all Telugu vowels across different gender, region and age groups. Using cross sectional study design, a total of 4320 tokens from 72 randomly selected Telugu speaking participants from three age groups, two gender and three region groups were analyzed. Vowel duration of the target vowel was extracted and analyzed using spectrogram. From the results it is interpreted that significant variations in vowel duration of vowels in Telugu exist between children, adolescents and adults; Coastal, Rayalaseema and Telengana speakers. Vowels /e/ and /a:/ had longest vowel duration, while short and long vowels /i/ have shortest vowel duration. Children found to have longer vowel duration as compared to adolescents or adults. Regional influences are seen on vowel duration. Rayalaseema speakers Language in India www.languageinindia.com 13 : 1 February 2013 Krishna Y, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Essential Tremor of the Voice Vs. Spasmodic Dysphonia by Michael M
    Essential Tremor (ET) Essential Tremor of the Voice vs. Spasmodic Dysphonia By Michael M. Johns, MD (pictured below)- Director at Emory Voice Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA and member of the IETF Medical Advisory Board, and Madeleine Pethan, MS, CCC-SLP - Speech Pathologist at Emory Voice Center Introduction box, is not the only structure which can cause essential tremor of the voice. Tremor of the voice can be caused Certain neurologic conditions can cause people to have when any of the structures in the speech system is problems with their voice. These voice problems can affected. Essential tremor of the voice may be caused often lead to more difficulty communicating throughout by tremor in the soft palate, tongue, pharynx, or even daily life. It is important that patients with neurological muscles of respiration. Extralaryngeal tremor (i.e., out- voice disorders are evaluated by an otolaryngologist, or side the voice box) has been reported in up to as many ENT doctor, in addition to their neurologist to determine as 93% of patients with diagnosed essential tremor of the diagnosis and discuss treatment options. Many the voice. Similarly, most patients with essential tremor patients with essential tremor also experience essential of the voice also have tremor affecting their hands, leg, tremor of the voice. Essential tremor of the voice can chin, or trunk. often be confused with another neurologic voice disor- der known as spasmodic dysphonia. Essential tremor seems to be associated with aging, al- though the reasons are still inconclusive. Most studies What is Essential Tremor? report average age of onset from the late 40s to early 50s.
    [Show full text]
  • A Quantitative Study Based on a Sonographic Examination of Four Vowel Sounds in Alaryngeal Speech
    Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 1977 A Quantitative Study Based on a Sonographic Examination of Four Vowel Sounds in Alaryngeal Speech Cheryl Ann Schultz Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Speech and Hearing Science Commons, and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Schultz, Cheryl Ann, "A Quantitative Study Based on a Sonographic Examination of Four Vowel Sounds in Alaryngeal Speech" (1977). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2571. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2568 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. -.~-. ........__ --- ···--..... ~-··~ --····------- .............. ..-.........-... - -~--·· -~~ --· .......... ____ . AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Cheryl Ann Schultz for the Master of Science in Speech Communication: Emphasis in Speech Pathoiogy/AUdioldgy presented May 3, 1977. Title: A Quantitative Study Based on a Sonographic Examina- tion of Four Vowel Sounds in Alaryngeal Speech. APPROVED BY MEMBERS OF THE THESIS COMMITTEE: Rober~ ~naliSh/~mg l.S • niS;.1r1.J..D. -, . .cas teel, Ph. n": Ronald ~· Smith, Ph.D. Laryngectomy, as a treatment for malignant laryngeal lesions, requires the patient to seek a substitute ~ethod of producing speech. Three types of alaryngeal speech were described: esophageal, Asai, and artificiai larynx. One consideration in deciding which mode of speech is best for the patient is how closely each type of'alaryngeal speech approximates normal.
    [Show full text]
  • Role of Voice Therapy in Patients with Mutational Falsetto 1Arvind Varma, 2Alok Kumar Agrahari, 3Raj Kumar, 4Vijay Kumar
    IJOPL Role of Voice Therapy10.5005/jp-journals-10023-1098 in Patients with Mutational Falsetto ORIGINAL ARTICLE Role of Voice Therapy in Patients with Mutational Falsetto 1Arvind Varma, 2Alok Kumar Agrahari, 3Raj Kumar, 4Vijay Kumar ABSTRACT The mutational period of human development Background: Mutational falsetto is the most common muta­ represents dramatic physical and emotional trans for­ tional voice disorder, found in all ages. Clinicians often miss mation of the individual. Principal changes that take this diagnosis due to unfamiliarity with the condition. The voice place during puberty are as follows: of a person with mutational falsetto is high pitched, weak, thin, • Considerable increase in vital capacity secondary to breathy, hoarse and monopitched. increase in the size and strength of thoracic muscles. Objective: This study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of voice therapy in persons with mutational falsetto. • An increase in length and width of neck. • A descent of larynx producing greater length and width Methods: Eleven male patients with ages between 18 and 26 years (mean age 22.18 years, SD 2.52) diagnosed with of pharynx thus, enlarging the resonatory system. mutational falsetto underwent acoustical analysis using The basic difference between the pubertal development Praat Software, perceptual analysis using grade, roughness, of the male and female larynx has to do with direction of breathiness, asthenia and strain (GRBAS) scale and psycho­ social analysis using emotional component of voice handicap the growth. Until puberty, they are essentially the same index (VHI). All the components were analyzed pre­ and post­ in size and form; however, during pubertal development, voice therapy.
    [Show full text]
  • Clinical Policy: Voice Therapy Reference Number: HNCA.CP.MP.134 Effective Date: 4/10 Coding Implications Last Review Date: 02/21 Revision Log
    Clinical Policy: Voice Therapy Reference Number: HNCA.CP.MP.134 Effective Date: 4/10 Coding Implications Last Review Date: 02/21 Revision Log See Important Reminder at the end of this policy for important regulatory and legal information. Description Voice therapy refers to any non-surgical techniques employed in the management of individuals with voice disorders. The goal is to modify vocal behaviors to reduce or correct maladaptive and inappropriate vocal behaviors and laryngeal trauma. Voice therapy is usually subject to speech therapy benefits. Policy/Criteria I. It is the policy of Health Net of California that voice therapy is medically necessary when provided by a qualified speech language pathologist for the following indications: A. Post vocal cord surgery or vocal cord trauma, or B. Post laryngeal (glottic) carcinoma, or C. Paradoxical vocal cord motion, or D. Functional or spastic (spasmodic) dysphonia, or E. Vocal cord nodules/lesions, or F. Vocal cord paralysis, or G. As part of gender affirming services. II. It is the policy of Health Net of California that voice therapy is not medically necessary to improve voice quality due to such conditions as laryngitis or for occupational or recreational purposes. Background Voice disorders are characterized by pitch, loudness, resonance, quality or duration of voice or by the inability to use one’s voice. The disorders result from abnormal laryngeal, respiratory or vocal tract functioning. Voice therapy includes four major components: vocal hygiene, vocal production, muscle relaxation and respiratory support. Disorders of the vocal cords such as surgical procedures, trauma, cancer, nodules and issues regarding motility (spasm, paralysis) can all affect speech.
    [Show full text]
  • Voice and Communication Change for Gender Nonconforming Individuals: Giving Voice to the Person Inside
    International Journal of Transgenderism ISSN: 1553-2739 (Print) 1434-4599 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wijt20 Voice and Communication Change for Gender Nonconforming Individuals: Giving Voice to the Person Inside Shelagh Davies, Viktória G. Papp & Christella Antoni To cite this article: Shelagh Davies, Viktória G. Papp & Christella Antoni (2015) Voice and Communication Change for Gender Nonconforming Individuals: Giving Voice to the Person Inside, International Journal of Transgenderism, 16:3, 117-159, DOI: 10.1080/15532739.2015.1075931 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2015.1075931 Published online: 16 Nov 2015. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 9294 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 13 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=wijt20 Download by: [73.111.253.98] Date: 10 January 2018, At: 14:10 International Journal of Transgenderism, 16:117–159, 2015 Copyright Ó Taylor and Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1553-2739 print / 1434-4599 online DOI: 10.1080/15532739.2015.1075931 Voice and Communication Change for Gender Nonconforming Individuals: Giving Voice to the Person Inside Shelagh Davies Viktoria G. Papp Christella Antoni ABSTRACT. In the seventh version of their Standards of Care, WPATH recognizes that, as each person is unique, so is the person’s gender identity. The goal of speech-language therapists/ pathologists is to help transgender people develop voice and communication that reflects their unique sense of gender. When outer expression is congruent with an inner sense of self, transgender people may find increased comfort, confidence, and improved function in everyday life.
    [Show full text]
  • Voice Onset Time (VOT) Characteristics of Esophageal, Title Tracheoesophageal and Laryngeal Speech of Cantonese
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by HKU Scholars Hub Voice onset time (VOT) characteristics of esophageal, Title tracheoesophageal and laryngeal speech of Cantonese Other Contributor(s) University of Hong Kong. Author(s) Wong, Ching-yin, Juliana Citation Issued Date 2007 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/55506 Rights Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License VOT characteristics 1 Voice onset time (VOT) characteristics of esophageal, tracheoesophageal and laryngeal speech of Cantonese Wong, Juliana Ching-Yin A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007 VOT characteristics 2 Abstract The ability of esophageal (SE) and tracheoesophageal (TE) speakers of Cantonese to differentiate between aspirated and unaspirated stops in three places of articulations were investigated. Six Cantonese stops /p, ph, t, t h, k, k h/ followed by the vowel /a/ produced by 10 SE, TE and laryngeal (NL) speakers were examined through perceptual judgement tasks and voice onset time (VOT) analysis. Results from perceptual experiment showed lower identification accuracy in SE and TE than NL speech for all stops. Misidentification of aspirated stops as their unaspirated counterparts was the dominant error. Acoustic analysis revealed that aspirated stops produced by NL, SE and TE speakers were associated with significantly longer VOT values than their unaspirated counterparts. Velar unaspirated stops showed significantly longer VOT values than bilabial and alveolar stops in NL and SE speech. In conclusion, SE and TE speakers were still able to use VOT to signal aspiration contrast, but TE was unable to differentiate among different places of articulation.
    [Show full text]
  • Fast Track Treatment for Puberphonia
    Scholarly Journal of Otolaryngology DOI: 10.32474/SJO.2020.03.000173 ISSN: 2641-1709 Research Article Fast Track Treatment for Puberphonia Kumaresan M* and Navin Bharath ENT Surgeon, Madras University, India *Corresponding author: M Kumaresan, ENT Surgeon, Madras University, India Received: January 13, 2020 Published: February 05, 2020 Abstract Puberphonia is most often treated using voice therapy (vocal exercises) by speech-language pathologists or speech therapists performedthat have experience by the, a psychologist, in treating voiceor counselor, disorders. can The help duration patients identifyof treatment the psychological is commonly factors one to that five contribute weeks. Indirect to their treatment disorder options for puberphonia focus on creating an environment where direct treatment options will be more effective. Counseling, and give them tools to address those factors directly. It may take long time. Patients may also be educated about good vocal hygiene and how their behavior could have long term effects on their voice. In some cases when traditional voice therapy is ineffective, surgical interventions are considered. This can occur in situations where intervention is delayed or the patient is in denial, causing the condition to become resistant to voice therapy. Surgical treatment correction needs voice therapy for a long time follow up. We use voice pitch analyzer to detect puberphonia and get the confidence of the patient. We explain the clients how by our method of pharyngeal resonance manipulation we get the male voice. By our procedure using uvula and soft palate as a source of generating male voice we eliminate high pitch voice and nasal phonation.99% of the cases we get the male desired voice in the first instant of pharyngealKeywords: resonance manipulation.
    [Show full text]