<p> of time, it may cause physical changes such as soft vocal swelling which is often What is Muscle Tension accompanied by dryness and the larynx Dysphonia (MTD)? feeling irrated.</p><p>What can cause Muscle Tension Dysphonia?  Long-term patterns of ineffective voice use.  Sudden changes in voice production associated with a period of over-use, an infection or emotional stress.  Compensation for an underlying vocal fold problem such as a cyst, or fatigue in the vocal muscles.</p><p>What are the symptoms of MTD?  A “guarding” response to acid reflux or some other irritant. AUDIBLE:  Rough, hoarse or raspy voice  A combination of some or all of these quality  Tight, tense, strained or factors. “squeezed” quality  Breathy, weak and quiet, fading-out towards the end of sentences  Voice breaks where the sound cuts-out briefly or is slow to get going  Too What can be done to help muscle high or too low in pitch Tension Dysphonia? SENSORY  Tiredness, aching or pain As there are typically no structural especially when speaking/ singing loudly abnormalities with MTD, there are no surgical against noise or for long periods  Dryness procedures to help muscle tension or scratchiness  A sense that talking is dysphonia. effortful and hard-work Voice Therapy aims to decrease excessive or In most cases, MTD produces vocal inappropriately placed tension in your voice symptoms without any physical damage but if box to help your vocal muscles function the voice is used like this over a long period effectively again. This can be achieved by </p><p> improving your vocal hygiene awareness and by trialing a number of direct voice therapy approaches such as:</p><p> Working on your posture  Improving your breathing pattern to support voice.  Relaxation techniques to reduce general neck/ shoulder tension that contributes to vocal tension.  Specific vocal exercises designed to re- distribute the working-load to appropriate muscles.  Laryngeal massage to reduce tension in the throat and laryngeal muscles.</p>