Thinking back to when possible signs and symptoms of a voice disorder appeared, I recall about five years ago when I was feeling upper chest discomfort. At that time, asthma, anxiety and thyroid problems were ruled out, and my blood pressure was fine (it’s always low). These waves in my upper chest to throat area were happening randomly and not during exercise. So, my doctor asked for an EKG…. It was an interesting experience; nothing abnormal appeared and my heart appeared to be fine. A few years later, I had new health insurance and a new doctor (who was actually a doctor that I had a few years back and knew me to be in good health). Now, my voice was going in and out of strength and my doctor heard the changes in my voice. The tests began...
- First was a breathing test, with a spirometer. This machine tested my lung capacity and the amount of air that I was producing as I breathed, and nothing abnormal appeared.
- Some time passed, and my voice was getting progressively inconsistent . I began doing research online, and made some discoveries:
2. it’s more common among women
3.there’s a high percentage among Ashkenazi Jews (like myself).
Surprised, I contacted my relatives to see if anyone recalled family members who had a vocal problem. I then went back to my doctor with this new-found knowledge. I found the disorder ‘spasmodic dysphonia’ online, and was somewhat relieved that I wasn't imagining the problem.
- Next step, a referral to a local ENT specialist. Before I knew it, this doctor put a scope in my nose and down my throat to see what was going on. He said that there were no visible growths: nodules, polyps, or thank goodness, signs of something abnormal like cancer. As this doctor was talking into his dictaphone the whole time, he never labeled the problem and said that I need to see a speech therapist.
- Then, there were weekly visits with a speech therapist at the local hospital. I learned various exercises and suggestions for a healthy throat. A friend, who is a speech therapist, was kind enough to also meet with me to try to alleviate the problem. These methods might have worked with a different situation, but it just wasn’t making much difference in my vocalizing.
- After no progress, I then got a referral for the ENT dept. at UCLA. I was hopeful that I would now find out what was wrong, and what could be done about this voice disorder. So, I had a second endoscope exam, this time with a team of doctors. The doctor then said, looking at the monitor, “this is classic spasmodic dysphonia”. One of the doctors admitted that it might be genetic, but nevertheless, the head doctor said that there’s no cure. I could either have Botox injections into the laryngeal muscle, which he was ready to do at the time, or surgery. He explained how the surgery would re-route a nerve in my larynx.
I said “ thank you, but I need to think about this” and left.
Next step….. Alternative therapies
