Pervasive Diagnosis and Rehabilitation of Voice Disorders: Current Status and Future Directions

Voice disorders affect approximately 7.5 million Americans and more individuals worldwide, have multiple etiologies, and occur throughout the lifespan. Occupational voice users such as teachers and call-center workers are particularly at risk for the development of chronic voice problems. The American Academy of Otolaryngology recommends behavioral voice therapy for a variety of voice disorders. However, approximately 50% of voice patients drop out or experience difficulty practicing and generalizing healthy speaking-voice technique. Recently, the development of mobile tools has been initiated to assist and motivate voice patients between therapy sessions. Such tools provide reminders, voice exercise videos or audio examples, and interactive acoustic analysis software. In addition, several iOS apps have been developed as low-cost alternatives to voice quality analysis suites for objective acoustic measurement of disordered voices. Moreover, singers and other intensive voice users have started the emerging trend of taking advantage of smartphones’ camera feature to visualize and video-record their own vocal folds, hereto impossible outside of the medical or research-laboratory environment. This paper introduces the reader to the evaluation and treatment of voice disorders, the current technologies that may enhance or disrupt the practice of voice care, and future directions.