What is reflux? The escape of acid and other digestive fluids from the stomach into the esophagus (the tube connecting the stomach to the throat) and up into the larynx (voice box). What causes it? When normal, healthy individuals eat or drink, swallowing propels food and…
Rhythm is the perceived evenness or unevenness of the rate of speech. It is realized through word stress and tempo variations. Word stress is achieved through (1) raising pitch, (2) increasing loudness, and (3) lengthening the nuclear vowel.
The S/Z Ratio is an indicator of voice disorder. It measures the ability to sustain the voiceless sound ‘s’ in comparison to sustaining the voiced sound ‘z’. 95% of people who have some difficulty affecting the movement of their vocal cords have an S/Z ratio of greater than 1.40. This…
What does an S/Z ratio below 1.0 mean? Research indicates that this may be “normative” in some situations, as there is considerable overlap in the s/z ratios of those with and without laryngeal pathology.
Clearing the throat can be traumatic to the vocal folds (vocal cords). It’s rather like smacking them together with too much force. Doing this excessively, and over a prolonged period of time (known as chronic throat clearing), can injure the vocal folds and this will in all…
Symptoms of functional dysphonia There are a variety of symptoms associated with functional dysphonia and these differ from person to person. However, those listed below are fairly typical. Of course, you don’t have to experience each one of these to be experiencing a functional voice difficulty.
What is tempo? Tempo is a person’s speaking rate or rate of speech. Tempo is a component of prosody. However, it is also a constituent of rhythm. Rhythm in turn is a product of stress and accent. So, whilst it is convenient to consider…
Vocal nodules are non-malignant calluses on the vocal cords. They may be large or small, soft or hard. They are caused by trauma to the vocal cords because of vocal misuse and abuse. The voice sounds rough with associated breathiness. Pitch and pitch range is restricted. Voice therapy is the…
