EFFICACY OF THE ACCENT METHOD OF VOICE THERAPY ON ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENTS, IN HYPERFUNCTIONAL DYSPHONIC PATIENTS

Abstract

Background: The accent method (AM) of voice therapy is one of the holistic approaches for behavior readjustment technique (BRAT). Anatomic physiologic explanation for the accent method is the rhythmic pairing of timing with respiration and phonation which may promote motor learning of new phonatory behaviors that will enhance the Bernoulli's effect to restore the glottic wave. Hyperfunctional voice disorder is a non-physiological increase in tone of the vocal folds on phonation.Aim of the work: Is to evaluate the effects of the AM of voice therapy on acoustic measurements, in patients with hyperfunctional dysphonia.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 25 patients with age ranging from 20 - 60 years, from January 2018 to December 2020, diagnosed with Hyperfunctional dysphonia based on objective and clinical measures, recruited from the outpatient Phoniatric clinic at Ain Shams University Hospitals, underwent acoustic analysis (CSL) pre and post therapy.Results: Comparing pre and post therapy results, there was no statistically significant difference in fundamental frequency while there was statistically significant difference (reduction) in Jitter %, Shimmer% and Noise to harmonic ratio.Conclusion: The present study showed that the AM of voice therapy improved acoustic measurements suggestive of noise to the vocal production and positive effects on the closure of the vocal folds, therefore Smith Accent method of voice therapy is an effective voice line of rehabilitation in hyperfunctional dysphonia.