What are voice and speech disorders?
Voice disorders are diseases that affect the quality of the voice, such as hoarseness, vocal cord nodules, effortful and easily fatigued speech, and narrowing of voice range. Speech disorders are diseases that affect the clarity and fluency of speech, language comprehension and expression, such as slurred speech, stuttering, aphasia, etc.
The British movie “The King’s Speech”, which won four Oscars, tells the story of a speech therapist who helped King George VI of England overcome his severe stuttering and deliver a speech to the nation to fight the Nazis during World War II. The correction of voice and speech diseases is an emerging specialty in China. The Department of Otolaryngology at our hospital specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders, lisp and stuttering.
In which groups of people are voice and speech disorders more common?
According to statistics, the prevalence of voice disorders in the population is 6.6%. It is especially common in people who use their voice in professions that eat “open mouth” (such as teachers, singers, salespeople, managers, etc.) and affects the quality of work and life. Lispiness and stuttering are more common among teenagers, which not only affects language learning and interpersonal communication, but also induces low self-esteem.
What are the causes of voice problems?
The main causes are improper use of voice and excessive use of voice. Vocal folds have a great amount of movement: when speaking, male vocal folds vibrate about 120 times per second and about 432,000 times per hour. If a male professional vocalist speaks for 6 hours a day, the vocal folds will vibrate nearly 2.5 million times a day.
The vibration frequency of female vocal cords is twice as high as that of male vocal cords, so by this calculation, the vocal cords of a female professional voice user will hit nearly 5 million times a day! Improper use of the voice can cause the vocal folds to hit too hard and rub too strongly with each vibration. Millions of times a day, the vocal folds are prone to problems. Excessive use of voice, singing “squeezing the voice”, loud voice, and inability to use air can easily lead to vocal cord problems.
Voice care
Avoid shouting and talking loudly when talking to each other.
2.Express enthusiasm and excitement with body language (such as clapping hands, shaking fists, etc.).
3.Reduce the noise around you when using your voice (such as TV, music, vacuum cleaner, horn sound, etc.).
4.Use amplification equipment in large rooms or when speaking to a crowd (such as meetings, classes).
5.Try to speak softly, but do not use whispering.
6.Keep your center of gravity stable and your body relaxed when you speak.
7.Ensure sufficient sleep.
8.Reduce throat clearing and coughing, and swallow hard instead.
9.Avoid active and passive smoking as much as possible.
10. Avoid inhaling irritating objects (such as dust, etc.).
11. Avoid excessive and continuous use of voice.