26
Dec
The Effects of Scleroderma on Voice and Swallowing
Scleroderma a is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. This fibrosis affects a range of organs including the mouth, vocal cords and larynx. When these areas are affected, a number of communication and swallowing difficulties can occ...
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Dec
May Lupus Awareness Month
May Lupus Awareness Month is an annual observance to call attention to lupus and its impact on the lives of millions of individuals and families. Lupus symptoms can show up all throughout the body, from head to toe. Recent research suggests another potential lupus sign: voice lo...
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Dec
May 6-10th is National Teacher Appreciation Week
Teachers need to take special care to preserve what may be their most valuable teaching asset—their voice. Teachers are among those professionals who make great demands on their voices; they talk all day long in the classroom and have to project loud enough so that all the...
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Dec
The Relationship Between Breathing, Swallowing and Speaking
Traditionally, breathing, swallowing and speaking have been considered separate entities that all just happened to take place at the same place- in the mouth and throat. More recent evidence, however, has shown that these tasks are actually intertwined, leading to new paradigms ...
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Dec
Xerostomia
Xerostomia describes the sensation of oral dryness and is commonly called “dry mouth. ” Some typical causes of dry mouth include medications, radiotherapy to the head and neck for cancer treatment, and systemic diseases. Xerostomia can have a profound, negative impact ...
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Dec
Speech Therapy Can Help Patients with MS
Speech and swallowing problems are among the most frustrating of MS symptoms, but speech therapy can help patients speak and swallow better. For the millions of people throughout the world with multiple sclerosis, symptoms can be debilitating, especially when it comes to speech ...
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Dec
Difficulty Swallowing?
The ability to swallow is something we never think about until something changes and it becomes painful or difficult to swallow. The medical term for this condition is dysphagia. Some common symptoms are coughing during and after eating or drinking, throat clearing, a wet soundi...
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Dec
Keep Your Voice Healthy At Work
If you work in a call center for example, your job depends on your voice, and you are considered an occupational voice user. Your voice is the only tool you have to convey your company's message. Whether your call center is in retail, finance, technical support, bill colle...
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Dec
Voice Quiz
Do any of these statements about your voice sound familiar? I run out of air when I talk. 2. The sound of my voice varies throughout the day. 3. My voice sounds creaky and dry. 4. I use a great deal of effort to speak. 5. My voice “gives out” in the middle of speaking. 6...
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Dec
Muscle Tension Dysphonia
One of the most common voice disorders we treat in speech therapy is muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). The term dysphonia means there is something wrong with the voice. However, muscle tension dysphonia can also refer to a voice that sounds normal, but causes pain, discomfort, or f...
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Dec
Sensory Neuropathic Cough
There are patients with a chronic dry cough lasting longer than 6 months that seem to defy all explanation and resist all of the usual standard treatments. Some patients have coughed for more than ten years resulting in frustration not only in the terms of treatment, but diagnosi...
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Dec
COPD & Swallowing
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. COPD comes with a variety of challenges. One common but not often discussed difficulty is trouble swallowing (also called dysphagia). Breathing is an important body function, but it also...
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