Celebrating the Voice

/

This week we’ve been celebrating World Voice Day! The American Academy of Otolaryngology‒Head and Neck Surgery, a US sponsor, states that “On World Voice Day everyone – young and old – is encouraged to assess their vocal health and take action to improve or maintain good voice habits.” Here at Sound, we love working with voice patients! Our SLP Molly put together some information about the voice as well as our favorite resources for learning more.

Fun Facts About the Voice

  • Your voice is housed in your larynx, also known as your voice box. 

  • Your vocal folds include four layers of very delicate tissue and one layer of muscle. 

  • Try humming and placing your hand against your neck. You should feel the vibration!  Our voice is produced by the vocal folds, which sit above our windpipe, also known as the trachea. The air from your trachea assists the vocal folds in vibrating to produce your voice!

Voice Therapy

  • Otolaryngologists (also known as Ear, Nose, and Throat physicians (ENT) can conduct evaluations of an individual’s larynx to investigate why an individual may be having difficulty with their voice. An ENT physician may recommend voice therapy as part of the individual's treatment plan. 

  • Voice therapy is conducted by Speech-Language Pathologists to assist individuals in healing from vocal injury and/or optimizing how they use their voice.

  • Voice therapy is tailored to support a person’s individual needs and includes providing patient education and implementing strategies to improve vocal hygiene. 

Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy

  • Gender-affirming voice therapy supports individuals who are seeking to achieve congruence of their voice with their gender identity. 

  • Therapy in this setting will explore areas including communication patterns, resonance, voice quality, intonation as they relate to gender perception. 

  • The patient is an active partner with the Speech-Language Pathologist in working towards their voice and communication goals.

Resources

Cleveland Clinic

National Institutes of Health

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Voice Foundation

/ / Comment

Jody Vaynshtok

Jody is a California-licensed speech language pathologist with eight years of industry and clinical experience. She has worked with both adult and pediatric populations during her time at private practice, birth-to-three, and hospital facilities. She is experienced in the assessment and treatment of a variety of communication and cognitive disorders. In addition, Jody has a passion for working with adults looking to achieve clearer communication. Jody received her BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and MS in Medical Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington. She was a part of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford’s cleft and craniofacial clinic participating in the multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of children born with craniofacial abnormalities. She holds a staff position at UCSF and is the lead speech language pathologist for the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Hearing Loss Clinic. When she's not busy having fun with her clients Jody enjoys spending time with her husband, Anton, friends and family. And if she's not headed out somewhere fun for dinner, you might find her at Bar Method working out!