Spastic Dysphonia: A case report

An in-depth investigation of a 55-year-old woman with spastic dysphonia was performed. The findings from otological, neurological and psychological investigations assisted in making a differential diagnosis and served to provide evidence for the etiology of this disorder. Subjective-perceptual evaluations of the voice revealed a strained, harsh-breathy voice quality with frequent breaks in phonation, a variable pitch and visible tension in the face and neck muscles. Objective spectrographic evaluations revealed much turbulence, ill-defined harmonics, a breakdown in formant structure, rapid pitch fluctuations and evidence of diplophonia, which was confirmed on a fiberscopic examination. Post-treatment spectrographic evaluations indicated an improved phonatory ability with significant improvement in the above parameters. Results are discussed in terms of the etiology and symptomatology of this disorder; and clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment are considered.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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