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BackgroundA laryngectomy affects many of a patient’s functions. Besides speech and respiratory-tract problems, olfaction and gustation problems can also have an influence on the quality of life. The aim of this study was to find out how often various nasal problems and decreased gustation appear after a laryngectomy.Patients and methods.One hundred and five laryngectomized patients (9 women, 96 men, aged 45–88 years), treated in two tertiary centers, were included in the study. They completed a questionnaire about various nasal problems, olfactory and gustatory capabilities, possible allergies and irritants in their environment, and the impact of the nasal and gustation problems on their quality of life.ResultsOlfaction was impaired in 51.4%, and was even not possible in 30.5%, of patients. Decreased gustation abilities were reported in 26.7%, and dysgeusia in 11.4%, of patients. Almost 21% of patients were bothered by an impaired gustatory ability and 50.5% of patients were affected by their loss of olfaction. Frequent nasal discharge was reported in 20%, frequent sneezing in 58.1%, and nasal itching in 33.3% of the laryngectomized patients. There were no correlations between the age and the olfaction and gustation abilities and between the allergy and the nasal symptoms, whereas the correlation between olfaction and gustation appeared significant (p=0.025).ConclusionsVarious nasal and gustatory problems were reported in more than 80% of laryngectomized patients. The olfaction and gustation abilities are connected and have a substantial impact on the quality of life. Like in the case of speech, the rehabilitation of olfaction is also necessary in all laryngectomized patients and must take place soon after the completion of the treatment.

Clin. Otolaryngol. 2012, 37, 362–368 Objectives:  To compare the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux in choristers, teachers and control subjects without vocal load at work and to determine the risk factors for laryngopharyngeal reflux. Design:  A prospective, multicentre, multivariate comparative study. Participants:  One hundred and nineteen singers from four professional choirs, seventy teachers from four schools and 111 control subjects with an occupation without vocal load. Main outcome measures:  All participants completed a questionnaire about their dietary habits, height and weight, presence of stress, smoking and allergies, including the nine‐item Reflux Symptom Index. The groups of choristers, teachers and the controls were compared with each other with regard to their sex, age, dietary habits, body‐mass index, Reflux Symptom Index score and other factors affecting voice quality. The subjects from all three groups with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux were compared with the subjects without it. The relationship between the Reflux Symptom Index score and the possible risk factors for reflux was estimated. Results:  The results showed significantly higher Reflux Symptom Index scores in the choristers than in the teachers and the controls (mean scores, 7.86 versus 6.33, P = 0.044; 7.86 versus 4.80, P = 0.000, respectively), but the number of subjects with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux (Reflux Symptom Index score >13) did not differ significantly between the groups. The choristers were significantly more often treated for laryngopharyngeal reflux than the teachers and the controls (41%, 17% and 28%, respectively). The occupation chorister and frequently experiencing stress were the only factors that influenced the total Reflux Symptom Index score. Conclusions:  Laryngopharyngeal reflux affects the choristers more often than the teachers or the control subjects without vocal load at work. These results suggest that singing as the main professional activity can notably contribute to the development of the reflux. Vocal load without singing is probably not an important aetiological factor for laryngopharyngeal reflux. The extraoesophageal symptoms affecting voice require treatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux and proper dietary habits especially in the group with high voice quality demands.

The effectiveness of teaching esophageal speech depends significantly on the motivatidn of the patients. It was found that the patients who mastered esophageal speech successfully had'been learning it longer than those who did not master it. The success in mastering esophageal speech did not depend on whether the patients were trained individually or collectively, whereas neither method of training was successful in group 2.

Accurate and efficient treatment of unilateral laryngeal palsies requires team work. Phoniatric rehabilitation of the disorder using Seeman's method has proved efficient in diminishing the glottic incompetence and dysphonia. Patients who fail to respond to phoniatric rehabilitation should be treated using other therapeutic modalities.

Vocal therapy effectively improves the voice in hyperkinetic dysphonia with prenodular lesions and soft nodules in both adults and children, affectinq diverse acoustic parameters.

The articulation of affricates and fricatives, especially sound /h/ from the group of the fricatives, was found to be the worst in the patients who had successfully mastered esophageal speech. The age and the tooth loss of patients who have mastered esophageal speech do not affect the articulation of sounds in Serbian language.

The aim of the study was to establish the effects of the vocal therapy by manual compression of the larynx on dysphonia due to a partial laryngectomy and compare them with the effects of the standard vocal therapy. The prospective study included 66 patients submitted to any partial laryngectomy type. The patients were randomly classified into two groups: Group I (33) receiving the standard vocal therapy, and Group II (33) submitted to larynx compression vocal therapy. The 6-week vocal treatment was performed. The treatment effects were evaluated by subjective and objective voice analysis methods. The subjective and objective acoustic voice analysis revealed a significant influence (p < 0.05) of either of the two vocal therapy modes on initial dysphonia. The larynx compression vocal therapy had better effects on the acoustic parameters: habitual fundamental frequency, mean fundamental frequency, standard deviation of fundamental frequency, maximal fundamental frequency, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio.