Spastic Dysphonia: A case report

Abstract

An in-depth investigation of a 55-year-old woman with spastic dysphonia was performed. The findings  from otological, neurological and psychological investigations assisted in making a differential diagnosis and served to provide evidence for  the etiology of this disorder. Subjective-perceptual evaluations of  the voice revealed a strained, harsh-breathy voice quality with frequent  breaks in phonation, a variable pitch and visible tension in the face and neck muscles. Objective spectrographic evaluations revealed much turbulence, ill-defined  harmonics, a breakdown in formant structure, rapid pitch fluctuations  and evidence of diplophonia, which was confirmed on a fiberscopic examination. Post-treatment spectrographic evaluations indicated an improved phonatory ability with significant improvement in the above parameters. Results are discussed in terms of  the etiology and symptomatology of  this disorder; and clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment are considered.