Assessment of Resonant Voice Therapy in the Treatment of Vocal Fold Nodules.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate objective and subjective changes in the voices of adults with vocal fold nodules who received resonant voice therapy.

METHODS: Twenty-six female patients who had bilateral vocal fold nodules and 30 healthy women were included in the study. Patients were treated with vocal hygiene education and resonant voice therapy. Voice records were obtained for acoustic and aerodynamic analysis. Fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio were analyzed for acoustic analysis. Maximum phonation time was used for aerodynamic evaluation. Voice Handicap Index 10 was completed by patients for subjective assessment. After 8 weeks of therapy analyses were repeated.

RESULTS: Stroboscopic analysis revealed that 14 patients had total and 9 had partial regression. Fundamental frequency increased from 152.27 ± 28.34 to 199.56 ± 11.25 in study group and this was statistically significant. Jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio improvements were also significant. Voice Handicap Index scores decreased from 22.25 ± 3.82 to 8.92 ± 5.48 and this was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Our finding that resonant voice therapy improved objective and subjective parameters of vocal function in patients with vocal fold nodules indicates that it is an effective treatment for VFNs and should be considered a therapeutic option.