Voice Tremor

Abstract

Voice tremor has been associated with neurological disorders such as essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, cerebellar ataxia. Voice tremor most commonly accompanies essen- tial tremor which is a common neurologic disorder that is often an autosomal dominant trait. It may appear in childhood or later life and runs a slowly progressive course.
Voice tremor is characterized by rhythmic alternations in pitch and loudness of vowel sounds, and is usually accompanied by tremor in other parts of the body. The frequency ranges from 4 to 8 Hz. Physiological lesions or mechanisms of voice tremor have not been throughly studied. Essential voice tremor can resemble spasmodic dysphonia, therefore differentiation between essential voice tremor and spasmodic dysphonia must be made. Laryngoscopy and laryngeal electromyography are useful for diagnosis.
Currently available therapies for voice tremor are not satisfactory, however propranolol is most commonly used.