Correlation between Severity of Laryngeal Hypertension and Subjective Voice Evaluation

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the usefulness of subjective voice disorder evaluation as a method of laryngeal hypertension evaluations. The Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) was compared according to the severity of laryngeal hypertension, and a correlation analysis was performed between the severity of laryngeal hypertension and the VFI score. Methods: The subjects of this study were 67 patients diagnosed with hyperfunctional voice disorder. The author classified the larynx into four parts and palpated it for evaluation of laryngeal hypertension. And according to the results, the patients were classified into ‘none, mild, moderate, and severe’. The voice measurements were based on the K-VFI results. Results: The results of comparing VFI scores according to the severity of laryngeal hypertension, K-VFI-total (F = 4.155, p = .009), K-VFI-fatigue (F = 15.628 p = .000), physical (F = 6.959, p = .000) and rest (F = 10.673, p = .000) showed significant differences between groups. In multiple comparisons, the three groups with hypertension each had higher scores in K-VFI-total, physical, and rest than the group without hypertension. In the K-VFI-fatigue, the moderate and severe hypertension groups scored higher than the non-hypertension group. In addition, the severity of laryngeal hypertension showed a significant positive correlation with K-VFI-total (r = .530, p = .000), K-VFI-fatigue (r = .375, p = .000), K-VFI-physical (r = .592, p = .000) and K-VFI-rest (r = .425, p = .000). Conclusion: These results suggest that patients can recognize laryngeal hypertension as evaluated by an SLP’s palpation. In addition, it indicates that the VFI which includes items about physical discomfort as a subjective voice evaluation can be usefully performed for the evaluation of laryngeal hypertension.