Voice Clinic Evaluation

(Speech Pathologist speaking to camera)

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: This video will cover the voice clinic procedure known as stroboscopy. During the video, we’ll cover the reasons why we do the procedure, how it’s performed, how it feels for the patient, as well as some of the risks and benefits.

(Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon speaking to camera)

ENT SURGEON: A nasendoscopy and stroboscopy is a really valuable way for a specialist to clearly view the structures of your nose, throat, and voice box. It also allows the specialist to test the function and movement of the voice box and the vocal folds.

(ENT Surgeon and Speech Pathologist speaking to a patient in a consultation room)

ENT SURGEON: Tell us about the issues that you’re having with your voice.

PATIENT: So I’ve had it for about two years.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST VOICE OVER: At The beginning of the session, we’ll begin by taking a case history. Here you’ll be asked about your voice, lifestyle factors, occupation, past medical history, and current medications. At this time, the speech pathologist may also conduct a perceptual assessment of your voice.

PATIENT: And I noticed it after, like a couple months after that it just got progressively worse.

(Patient is sitting in a clinic chair. The Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon carries out the procedure)

ENT SURGEON: We will use a local aneasthetic spray up your nose, which might take a few minutes to take effect. You’ll feel that sort of spray running down the back of your throat.

ENT SURGEON VOICE OVER: While the numbing spray is setting in the ENT will take a look inside your mouth and palpate your neck. The procedure uses a flexible nasendoscope tool. It’s a narrow tube with a light and camera attached, which we pass through your nose to both view and record the different parts of your throat.

The extra piece of equipment we have here is what’s called a stroboscopy, and during that procedure we shine light at your vocal cords to see the movement of the mucosal wave across the cords, which gives us extra information beyond what might just be seen with a normal nasendoscope.

During the procedure, we’ll ask you to perform a number of voicing tasks, things like taking a deep breath, making sounds of different pitch and loudness levels, and repeating certain sentences.

ENT SURGEON: I want you to say E for me.

PATIENT: eeee.

ENT SURGEON: Good. And say he, he, he.

PATIENT: he, he, he.

ENT SURGEON: Right. Now I want you to sniff an E, So E.

PATIENT: (sniffs) e, (sniffs) e.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: Saying these sounds now. e, e, e.

PATIENT: e, e, e.

SPEECH PATHOLOGISt: All the way over there.

PATIENT: All the way over there.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: Okay. If you can give us a long eeee at your comfortable pitch.

PATIENT: eeeee.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: Good. Show me now at a pitch glide.

PATIENT: eeee.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: Good.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST VOICE OVER: At the end of the voice clinic, the ENT and speech pathologist will discuss your diagnosis with you and possible treatment recommendations.

(ENT Surgeon speaking to camera)

ENT SURGEON: The nasendoscope itself probably only takes about fiveto 10 minutes, but all up your appointment would be for about 30 minutes. Nasendoscope is really a very low risk procedure. Occasionally you can get a bit of bleeding from the nose may happen, but it usually stops pretty quickly. The risk of infection is very, very small, almost minuscule because the flexible nasendoscope tool is sterilized after each session. No food or drink is recommended for about 20 minutes after the procedure because we use a numbing spray, which can make it a little bit harder to swallow, and it’s best to make sure that you can feel the back of your throat before you have anything further to eat and drink.

(Patient facing camera. Speech Pathologist asking questions off-camera)

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: Was the procedure painful?

PATIENT: Not at all. There was no pain.

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: What did it feel like as it went through the nose?

PATIENT: You can’t really feel it that much. I think once it gets to the back, you can feel a little twinge and you don’t feel anything else after that.