INTERVENTION:
Intervention
Treatment for voice disorders may involve medical, surgical and/or behavioural intervention. Medical and behavioural voice treatments often complement each other. At our clinic the following treatments are available:
Medical treatment includes pharmacological regimens, treatment for allergies as well as treatment of reflux of stomach acids.
Surgical treatment includes vocal fold medialisation procedures and vocal fold injections for vocal fold insufficiency, micro-endoscopic surgery for benign and malignant vocal fold lesions, Laryngeal chondroplasty and gender reassignment surgery.
Botox treatment for Spasmodic Dysphonia and Laryngeal Tremor.
Voice therapy is similiar to physiotherapy. Injury and misuse can occur as a result of phono-trauma, voice overuse, certain surgical procedures, neurological components, paralysis or pareses of the nerves supplying the vocal cords, organic conditions or cancer. This necessitates a rehabilitation process to address the injuries as well as specific voice exercises to facilitate correct voice use and vocal strength. Behavioral voice therapy focuses on educating patients about laryngeal structure and functioning, instituting programmes of vocal hygiene, eliminating abusive vocal behaviours. Direct voice therapy techniques are utilised to re-balance the laryngeal structures and re-strengthen the vocal cord muscles.
holistic approach is followed were attention is given to respiration, phonation and resonance.
Therapy is also provided for laryngeal spasms (Paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder) and chronic cough.
Consultations usually consist of 2 to 4, hourly sessions, over a 2 month period, depending on the voice pathology.
With singers a rehabilitation program is followed to specifically give attention to the singing voice. The rehabilitation exercises are independent of the singer’s style of singing, whether classical, contemporary commercial music, rock, pop, musical theatre, gospel, hip hop singer, rap artist, and more.