Objective: The purpose of this work was to study the efficacy of early voice therapy in the management of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Patients and Methods: Three groups of patients suffering from unilateral vocal fold paralysis were subjected to a protocol of voice evaluation including auditory-perceptual voice analysis, the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) and the 20-item Voice Problem Self-Assessment Scale (VPSS-20). Patients were also examined using video laryngostroboscopy. The early voice therapy group was enrolled in a voice therapy program for 16 sessions as soon as the patients were diagnosed; the second group of patients did not receive voice therapy during the course of their ailment. The late voice therapy group was enrolled in a voice therapy after a period of at least 6 months following the onset of vocal fold paralysis. All studied patients were reevaluated after a period of 2 months. Results: The early voice therapy group showed better outcomes regarding VPSS-20 scores, auditory-perceptual voice analysis as well as the DSI. Conclusion: Early onset of voice therapy may enhance the reduction in glottal gap and improvement of voice quality by hindering the development of faulty hyperfunctional compensatory behaviors; early voice therapy may therefore enhance the patient's quality of life.
Objective: The aim of this study was to develop an Arabic articulation test using familiar and visually transparent words in order to be used as a criterion for comparing phonemes of both normal and phonologically disordered Arabic-speaking children. Material and Methods: A picture-naming test was designed for the Mansoura Arabic Articulation Test (MAAT) to elicit spontaneous single-word responses representing all possible consonant positions and vowels of Colloquial Egyptian Arabic. Three expert phoniatricians were asked to review MAAT and complete a questionnaire. The MAAT was presented to 100 normal Arabic-speaking Egyptian children randomly selected from the first- and second-grade kindergarten. They were 52 males and 48 females with ages ranging between 42 and 70 months. Children’s responses were converted to a percent correct score for sound utterances and picture identification. Results: Statistically non-significant differences were found among experts’ opinions reflecting approval for the MAAT items. A statistically highly significant adequate correlation was found between correct word utterances and picture identification which proved the content validity of MAAT. Test-retest reliability proved the consistency of MAAT. Conclusion: MAAT is a valid and reliable test that can be applied to collect the phonetic inventory of Arabic-speaking young children.
This cross-sectional study highlights that patients' self-perception of a voice problem is related to their difficulty in sustaining controlled loudness and adequate glottic closure rather than in controlling frequency irregularity.
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