Hello, you and I often hear a voice and know instantly who it is. Well I
want to give you that same kind of instant recognition of a group of voice disorders
caused by laryngeal dystonia. You might have this voice disorder or you might
know somebody who has it, and in either case, you might not know what its name is.
You will see some clips of the vocal folds inside
the voice box right here, except that on screen they will be in this orientation.
In this view the vocal folds or vocal cords come together and vibrate to
make sound. That's what my vocal folds look like right now as I am talking to
you. By the way the vocal folds also come together when we cough or clear our throats.
"Long ago people found that it was easier to travel
on water than on land." Or, "Long people...that...easier...travel...land."
These are two of the commoner variance of a disorder called spasmodic dysphonia
or SD for short. The first strained, strangled kind of voice is called
adductor spasmodic dysphonia. The second more whispery variant is called abductor
spasmodic dysphonia. Let's listen to some less common variants that I'm going to mimic. We're
going to in effect create an auditory catalogue and then we'll be finished.
Now to the strain strangled variety, here is a list of subtypes. First tonic variant:
"Long ago, people found that it was easier to travel on water than on land."
Tonic variant with vocal fry:
"Long ago people found that it was easier to travel on water than on land."
Tonic variant with the cry quality: "Long ago people found that it was easier to travel on water than on land."
Back to the classic variant this time a mild case. "Long ago people found that it was
easier to travel on water than on land." And classic variant that's more–much more severe:
"Long ago people found that it was easier to travel on earth than on land."
And classic variant with tremor:
"Long ago people found that it was easier to travel on water than on land."
Now the abductor–you're the whisper kind of variant—tonic would be: "Long ago people found that
it was easier to travel on water than on land." Then the classic variant mild: "Long ago people
found that it was easier to travel on water than on land." Classic variant severe:
"Long ago people found that it was easier to travel on water than on land."
Now what if you recognize one of these variants that I've mimicked in yourself or in the voice of
a friend? What should you do? Two suggestions: first, search out a voice specialist in your
area and ask the question, "Do I have SD?" Second, contact a wonderful advocacy and educational
organization for persons with SD; the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association or NSDA.
It can be located on the web at www.dysphonia.org
Thanks for watching! I wish you well and hope this helps.