Alters- und entwicklungsentsprechende Diagnostik und Therapie von Stimmstörungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen (Teil 2)

Abstract

The incidence of dysphonia among children and adolescents is evaluated internationally at 6 % to 25 %. Nonetheless, hoarseness as a leading symptom among children is often insufficiently recognized by their parents/attachment figures, by the young patients themselves, and even by physicians. In an overview, the hereditary and acquired organic and functional causes - including secondary organic lesions of the vocal folds - their pathomechanisms and the symptoms typical for this age group are presented. For diagnostics suitable for these age groups and developmental stages, modern methods of laryngoscopy (including stoboscopy and real-time laryngoscopy), of functional diagnostics of vocal capacity and quality as well as anamnestic and psychometric procedures for the investigation of possible psychosomatic genesis are available. Frequent therapeutic measures are vocal hygienic counseling and psycho- and family dynamic therapies. Vocal exercise treatments are particularly employed for the consequences of laryngeal surgery and with voice techniques unfavorable as a precondition for increased vocal activity. Operative measures in the sound-producing areas of the vocal apparatus and in the framework of plastic reconstruction concentrate on the optimizing of vocal capacity and quality. In clinical routine, symptoms of dysphonia in children and adolescents should be consciously registered, and any long-term hoarseness, in this age group as well, should be examined by specialized physicians using the methods suitable to the age group and the developmental stage. When the appropriate indications are present, all of the therapeutic options currently available should be discussed.