Voice Therapy Combined with Laryngeal Afferent Inputs

Abstract

It is necessary to understand the pathophysiology of dysphonia in line with the mechanism of vocalization in order to appropriately diagnose voice disorders and consider appropriate treatments. It has been reported, based on animal experiments, that laryngeal sensory inputs affect the vocal control mechanism. However, these experimental methods are difficult to apply in the clinical setting because they use invasive techniques, such as nerve resection or artificial airflow loading with under the tracheostomy. Therefore, we focused on interference current stimulation as an attempt to analyze laryngeal sensory feedback with more natural and non-invasive laryngeal sensory stimulation. In dysphagia treatment, there are therapeutic devices that aim to facilitate the swallowing reflex by applying interference current stimulation to the neck. Focusing on this stimulation characteristic, we are investigating the possibility of voice therapy combined with transcutaneous cervical interference current sensory stimulation. In this paper, we would like to introduce the previous research on the effects of laryngeal afferent inputs for dysphonia and then the results of our own experiments based on this idea.