• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2019

Background and Objectives : Functional aphonia is characterized by incomplete closure of the vocal folds. Semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) allows smoothly vocal folds collision without damage to the vocal folds tissues to produce normal vocal intensity. The purpose of this study is to report the effect of SOVTE in patients with functional aphonia. Materials and Method : Seven patients diagnosed with functional aphonia were treated with 1-3 voice therapy sessions using voiced lip-trill, humming, Lax Vox in SOVTE. To assess the effectiveness of semi-occluded vocal tract exercise, cepstral analysis and auditory perceptual assessment were performed before and after voice therapy. Results : F0 (fundamental frequency), CPP (cepstral peak prominence) and L/H ratio (low/high spectral ratio) were significantly increased, while CPP Standard deviation, L/H ratio Standard deviation were decreased. In addition, 'Grade', 'Breathiness' and 'Asthenia' were significantly decreased in the GRBAS scale after SOVTE (p<0.05). Conclusion : In our study, SOVTE seemed to be effective to elicit voice quickly and promote vocal folds vibration without muscular effort in patients with functional aphonia.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2021

This study examines the effectiveness of semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) conducted through telepractice for 10 female teachers who have experienced vocal discomfort while working in early childhood education facilities (childcare centers, kindergartens). The effects of SOVTE conducted through telepractice were evaluated based on the Korean voice handicap index (KVHI), the Korean version of the voice activity and participation profile (K-VAPP), vocal effort, and auditory perception evaluation by using the grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) scale. The results show that total, functional, and physical scores of KVHI significantly reduced after SOVTE. The total score in K-VAPP significantly reduced after SOVTE. Moreover, vocal effort significantly decreased after SOVTE. However, statistically significant differences were not noted in GRB scales before and after SOVTE. In conclusion, early childhood teachers experienced reduced vocal discomfort SOVTE conducted through telepractice. The study results indicate that voice therapy conducted through telepractice is an effective method for reducing vocal discomfort in early childhood teachers.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

After thyroidectomy, some patients who show normal vocal cord movement still complain of subjective voice problems, which could lead to a decrease in quality of life related to communication. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a newly designed voice therapy applying neck exercise and semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) to improve voice problems after thyroidectomy without neurological injury. For this purpose, voice therapy was randomly assigned to 10 women who received thyroidectomy. Acoustic analysis [fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonics ratio, min Voice Range Profile (VRP), max VRP, VRP] was performed before and after surgery and immediately after voice therapy to compare voice changes. The study showed a statistically significant increase in max VRP and VRP after voice therapy compared to before surgery. These results suggest that the voice therapy methods in this study effectively improve a major symptom of voice problems after thyroidectomy, specifically the reduction in the high-frequency range. However, this study was limited in the number of s participants and did not control for the type of surgery. Therefore, further research utilizing larger sample sizes and controlled variables is needed to investigate the long-term effects of voice therapy.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.57-63
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• 2016

Recently, the Lax Vox voice therapy has been used as one of the SOVTE(Semi-Occluded Vocal Tracts Exercise). The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of Lax Vox voice therapy for a patient with Spasmodic dysphonia on voice improvement. One female spasmodic dysphonia patient(age=27) who had been diagnosed by a laryngologist received Lax Vox voice therapy. The Lax Vox protocol was configured as 5 steps (1 warm-up and 4 steps : bubbling without / with phonation/ gliding with phonation/ generalization) in this study. A total of 11 sessions were performed by a certified speech language pathologist. The present study evaluated the acoustic, aerodynamic, auditory perceptual, and patient's self-rating between pre-, mid-, and post- voice therapy. All objective and subjective parameters were improved after voice therapy; Reduced frequency variation, increased maximum phonation time, enlarged voice range, improved 'G' and 'S' in GRBAS & USDRS, and reduced VHI were observed. Especially, decreased $f_0$ and remarkably reduced voice tremor were also demonstrated following Lax Vox voice therapy. Accordingly, Lax Vox voice therapy technique can be useful for improving voice and quality of life in patients with spasmodic dysphonia.