Perceptual Voice Evaluation
The voice pathologist will review your symptoms, medical history, and daily vocal demands, all while rating what we hear in your voice. We will assess characteristics of your vocal quality, pitch, and loudness. You may hear your voice pathologist use terms such as “hoarseness,” “roughness,” “breathiness,” or “strain.” If you are having difficulty singing, the voice pathologist will ask you to sing something to better assess your singing voice quality.Acoustic Voice Evaluation
During this portion of the evaluation, you will be asked to complete a series of voice tasks while speaking into a microphone. We use state-of-the-art acoustic analysis software to analyze your acoustic signal and determine your average speaking pitch, vocal range, and how your mechanics of voice production affects the overall sound quality. This evaluation helps our voice team to obtain baseline measurements of your voice quality and to track your progress over time.
Phonatory Aerodynamic Evaluation
The phonatory aerodynamic evaluation determines the amount of airflow and pressure you use during voice production. This helps us assess the relationship between your airflow, air pressure, and the acoustic sound of your voice. Aerodynamic measures are important for gaining a better understanding of how efficiently you use your airflow to speak.
Trial Voice Therapy
At the end of the voice evaluation, you will be coached through a variety of trial voice therapy exercises. This lets us determine how easy it is for you to change the sound and the way you’re using your voice to better determine how much success you’ll likely achieve through voice therapy versus whether your condition might also require surgical management or medical intervention.
If you’re a good candidate for therapy, and it’s something you’re interested in, we discuss probable outcomes. Together we develop a personalized treatment plan directed at helping you meet your goals through direct, indirect, and innovative evidenced-based approaches.