Skip to main content
The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology
Download PDF
  • Original article
  • Open access
  • Published:

Successful management of functional aphonia using a modified voice therapy technique: a case series

The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology volume 33, pages 679–684 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective

The aim of the present study was to report the experience of a tertiary-care center in Makkah, Saudi Arabia in managing cases of functional aphonia.

Study settings and design

A case series study was conducted at the Phoniatrics Outpatient Clinics of King Abdullah Medical City in Holy Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods

Cases with functional aphonia managed by modified voice therapy technique in the period from March 2011 to January 2016 at the Phoniatrics Outpatient Clinics were recruited. Management consisted of auditory perceptual assessment, acoustic analysis, laryngeal examination, and voice handicap index measurement. All these parameters were recorded for each case before and after management.

Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences version 16, and data were subjected to descriptive as well as inferential analyses.

Results

A total of 15 patients with functional aphonia were managed. One female patient had an exceptionally long period of aphonia, and her case is presented separately. The success rate of the procedure used for management was 100%.

Conclusion

Using the nonphonatory function of vocal folds in a modified manner by experienced therapists leads to recovery of voice regardless of the period of aphonia.

References

  1. Kotby MN. Voice disorders: recent diagnostic advances. Egypt J Otolaryngol 1986; 3:89.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Boone DR, Mcfarlane SC. The voice and voice therapy. 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Brodnitz FS. Functional aphonia. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 1969; 78:1244–1253.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Böhme G. Sprach-, Sprech-, Stimm- und Schluckstörungen. Band 1: Klinik. 4. Auflage. München, Jena: Urban und Fischer; 2003. p. 109.

  5. Wendler J, Seidner W, Kittel G, Eysholdt U. (eds.) Lehrbuch der Pho-niatrie und Pädaudiologie. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Thieme; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Boone DR. The Voice and Voice Therapy. New Jersey, NJ: Prentice-Hall 1971.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Aronson AE. Speech pathology and symptom therapy in the interdisciplinary treatment of psychogenic aphonia. J Speech Hear Disord 1969; 34:321–341.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kolbrunner J, Menet AD, Seifert E. Psychogenic aphonia: no fixation even after a lengthy period of aphonia. Swiss Med Wkly 2010; 140:12–17.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Günther V, Mayr-Graft A, Miller C, Kinzl H. A comparative study of psychological aspects of recurring and non-recurring functional aphonias. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 1996; 253:240–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Brondnitz FS. Vocal rehabilitation. 4th ed. Rochester, MN: American Academy of Opthalmology and Otolaryngology; 1971.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Greene MCL. The voice and its disorders. 4th ed. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company; 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Wendler J, Seidner W, Eysholdt U (eds.) Lehrbuch der Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie. 4th ed. Stuttgart: Thieme; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Wirth G. Stimmstörungen. Lehrbuch für Ärzte, Logopäden, Sprech-heilpädagogen und Sprecherzieher. 4 ed. Köln: Deutscher Ärzte-Verlag; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Friedrich G, Bigenzahn W, Zorowka P. Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie. Einführung in die medizinischen, psychologischen und linguistischen Grundlagen von Stimme, Sprache und Gehör. 4th ed. Bern: Huber; 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Muck O. Heilungen von schwerer funktioneller Aphonie. Feldärz-tliche Beilage zur Münchner medizinischen Wochenschrift. MMW 1916; 63:441.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Bauer HH. Die Bedeutung der ätiologischen Abklärung funktioneller Stimmstörungen für deren kausale Therapie. In: Gundermann H, editor. Aktuelle Probleme der Stimmtherapie. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer; 1987. pp. 5–13.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Malki KH, Mesallam TA, Farahat M, Bukhari M, Murry T. Validation and cultural modification of Arabic voice handicap index. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2010; 267:1743–1751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kotby MN. The accent method of voice therapy. San Diego, CA: Singular publishing Group Inc.; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Maniecka-Aleksandrowicz B, Domeracka-Kolodziej A, Rozzak-Komorowska A, Szeptycka-Adamus A. Management and therapy in functional aphonia: analysis of 500 cases. Otolaryngol Pol 2006; LX: 191–197.

  20. Rubin JS, Greenberg M. Psychogenic voice disorders in performers: a psychodynamic model. J Voice 2002; 16:544–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Chastan N, Parain D, Vérin E, Weber J, Faure MA, Marie J-P. Psychogenic aphonia: spectacular recovery after motor cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2009; 80:94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Torgerson JK. Cough offset schwa as a means of eliciting initial phonation in functional aphonia: two case reports. J Commun Disord 1983; 16: 63–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Wolski J, Wiley J. Functional aphonia in a 14-year-old boy. J Speech Hear Disord. 1965; 30:71–75.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phoniatric Unit-Department of ENT, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

    Aboloyoun I. Ali & El Kholy M. Rasha

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Elmorsy A. Soha

  3. Department of ENT, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

    Marglani Osama

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Strategic Planning, King Abdulla Medical City, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

    Elmorsy A. Soha

  5. Department of Strategic Planning, PO Box 57657, King Abdulla Medical City, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia

    Farooq U. Mian MSc

Authors
  1. Aboloyoun I. Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marglani Osama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elmorsy A. Soha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. El Kholy M. Rasha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Farooq U. Mian MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farooq U. Mian MSc.

Additional information

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ali, A.I., Osama, M., Soha, E.A. et al. Successful management of functional aphonia using a modified voice therapy technique: a case series. Egypt J Otolaryngol 33, 679–684 (2017). https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_39_17

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ejo.ejo_39_17

Keywords