A Voice Apart

The term Muscle Tension Dysphonia is a general term which could be associated with an imbalance in the muscle’s coordination and breathing patterns required to create a voice. Muscle Tension Dysphonia (often called MTD) may occur on its own, or as a result of a strained voice being pulled into the neck muscles. The reason behind this disorder is not always clear. It may be triggered by allergies, illness, acid reflux or whichever other means... Symptoms - The most common symptoms for this disorder is a change in voice quality, often associated with discomfort of the vocal cords (or voice box) while speaking or singing. Also, almost always, symptoms like hoarseness and rapines will be associated with an increased effort to talk or sing, coupled with subsequent fatigue during continuous voice use. Treatment - There is an alternative form of voice therapy which is the gold standard for the treatment of Muscle Tension Dysphonia. There are no other known treatments (outside of

What do we mean by that? We mean… NO singing and NO skating… per say. “It’s quality of skating, not quantity of jumps” - states Canadian figure skating champion, Patric Chan. “Skating can be rewarded” -   said the figure skating commentator, Rod Black, after the U.S. well-known skater, James Brown’s ice performance. James Brown himself said: “ Of course, I can land ripples and quads, but not in the expense of the artistry!” Given all that, in this case, the skaters themselves are revolting against “ice acrobatics” and overall “ice circus”, so to speak.  They actually have been missing the artistry of their craft, as well as poise and grace, which had always made figure skating field a very special place where they had an opportunity to show off their very special skills (and not just very dangerous and vigorous jumps which, in turn, could, at any time, become very detrimental to their body’s anatomy and physiology). I just watched a pre-holiday movie where the

Short but intense round of alternative speech therapy may be a better solution for restoring language skills lost to a stroke than any traditional methods.  Specialists have found that stroke/post-stroke survivors who have difficulty in speaking or understanding speech, showed some good improvements in language and communication skills after a short term of intense speech therapy.  Language impairment occurs in more than a third of people after a stroke; but up to 60% still have language impairments for more than six months after a stroke. This condition in medical terms is known as chronic aphasia.  Sometimes speech may return all of a sudden on its own even without treatment. This condition happens generally after a minor stroke. If the stroke survivor’s speech returns, it often happens within a few days, although this happens quite rarely. Anyone who has suffered from a severe stroke, causing significant damage to one’s speech pattern, needs a specialized form of voi

Spasmodic Dysphonia is a voice disorder caused by a neurological condition, affecting your speech. This disorder can affect all ages and can develop at any time. With this voice-related problem, movement of the vocal cords if forced and strained resulting in a jerky, hoarse, tight or groaning voice. If you are affected with Spasmodic Dysphonia, the muscles inside your vocal cords may receive some abnormal nerve signals that cause to vibrate your vocal cords uncontrollably at a time.  Symptoms of Spasmodic Dysphonia At first, the symptoms may be mild and they may occur only occasionally. With the passing time, they may worsen and become more frequent before they even out. The main symptom of spasmodic dysphonia is a forced movement of the muscles inside the vocal cords. This can cause a strained voice. Words you speak may be dragged out or broken while you talk. The symptoms may also include: • A hoarse voice • You have difficulty producing air when you speak • There