At Performance Voice Solutions, we offer the following services:

Our voice evaluation includes a comprehensive case history review, objective voice measures and a perceptual assessment of vocal techniques and patterns the patient uses for speech and/or singing. This includes indexes such as the Voice Handicap Index and the Reflux Symptom Index. The clinician also uses the Reflux Finding Score to screen for LPR.

Vocal recording and analysis includes quantification of the voice signal with respect to pitch, loudness, quality and variability as well as measurement of acoustic parameters

Videostroboscopy is similar to slow-motion photography of the vocal folds. It is a method of evaluating the vocal folds under both halogen (static) and xenon (strobe) lights. The halogen light may be used to see the true color of the vocal folds and the surrounding tissues. The xenon light allows an averaging of the vocal fold cycles so the naked eye can visualize vibration and tissue health. Videostroboscopy may be conducted with either a flexible fiberoptic scope that is inserted into your nose and down your throat. This allows for visualization of the vocal folds from above, with little or no restriction of the vocal folds while you either speak, sing or whistle. The second scope is a rigid telescopic scope that is placed in your mouth just past the back of your tongue. It allows for greater magnification and detail than the flexible does. Sometimes, patients may have difficulty with a gag reflex during this examination. In these cases, a mild anesthetic, similar to the one used in dentists offices, may be sprayed into your nose or the back of your throat.

Voice Therapy is the process of rehabilitating (or “habilitating”) the vocal folds by teaching the brain how “to do voice” differently. It is a key tool in the treatment of voice disorders, administered by a trained speech-language pathologist who has experience as a voice therapist. Voice therapy goals are individually created by the voice therapist for each individual patient, in order to meet their specific needs. It may be all that is needed to correct a voice problem, or it may be recommended in conjunction with surgery and/or medication. It includes education, mastery of techniques and exercises that begin with easy sounds and move into conversational speech and, for singers, into singing. It frequently includes breathing techniques as well.