Voice
A voice disorder is characterized by abnormal vocal pitch, loudness, quality
or resonance. Indications for a ENT and/or speech referral include:
- A voice that
is chronically hoarse, harsh, breathy or of poor quality
- A voice that is always
too loud of soft
- The pitch is inappropriate for the child’s age or sex
- Pitch breaks occur frequently
- The voice is hyponasal or hypernasal
Hypernasality & Hyponasality
Hypernasality and Hyponsality are resonance disorders, caused by a dysfunction
of the velopharyngeal mechanism.
Velopharyngeal Incompetence
Velopharyngeal incompetence is the inability of the velum and related musculature
to close the nasopharynx, separating the oral and nasal cavities for the production
of oral consonants. This can be caused by a deficiency of the velum or an increased
size or the pharynx. Possible symptoms of velopharyngeal incompetence include
hypernasality, hyponasality, nasal air escape, reduced oral pressure for consonants,
compensatory articulation including: glottal stops, pharyngeal fricatives, and
nasal snorts.
Vocal Nodules
Is your child a yeller or screamer? Does your child have allergies? Thyroid imbalance?
Gastroesophageal reflux or chronic indigestion? If so, your child just might
be at risk for developing vocal fold nodules or polyps. Speech-language pathologists
have identified more than 100 adjectives to describe the voices of people with
nodules or polyps. The most frequently used words are hoarse, rough, breathy,
scratchy, and harsh. Some individuals complain of shooting pain from ear to ear,
a “lump in the throat” sensation, or neck pain. Some people, especially singers,
notice that the pitch range of the voice is decreased in the upper, higher range.
Others report fatigue in the voice or general body fatigue, possibly from the
effort of talking. |
