Voice Disorders & Treatment Flashcards
7 cards from real SLP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Voice Disorders & Treatment flashcards as text
According to the body-cover theory of vocal fold vibration, the 'cover' refers to:
Answer: The epithelium and superficial layer of the lamina propria
The cover consists of the epithelium and the loose superficial layer of the lamina propria (Reinke's space), which undergoes the characteristic mucosal wave motion.
A patient with essential tremor presents with rhythmic voice tremor at approximately 4–8 Hz primarily during sustained vowels. Treatment with botulinum toxin injection would most appropriately target:
Answer: The thyroarytenoid and/or cricothyroid muscles depending on tremor pattern
Botulinum toxin for voice tremor is injected into whichever intrinsic muscles (thyroarytenoid for adductory tremor, cricothyroid for pitch-related tremor) are driving the oscillation.
Contact granulomas of the vocal process are best managed with which COMBINATION approach?
Answer: Voice therapy, anti-reflux treatment, and possibly botulinum toxin to the thyroarytenoid
Contact granulomas respond best to a multimodal approach: behavioral voice therapy to reduce hard glottal contacts, anti-reflux management, and sometimes botox to reduce forceful adduction.
Which of the following vocal hygiene recommendations has the STRONGEST evidence for reducing phonotrauma to the vocal folds?
Answer: Maintaining adequate systemic hydration and humidification
Systemic and surface hydration reduce phonation threshold pressure and mucosal viscosity, directly decreasing collision force and biomechanical stress on the vocal folds.
A patient with Reinke's edema most commonly presents with which demographic profile and voice characteristic?
Answer: Middle-aged female smoker with a low-pitched, rough voice
Reinke's edema is strongly associated with chronic cigarette smoking and predominantly affects middle-aged women, causing diffuse polypoid swelling that lowers the fundamental frequency markedly.
The cricothyroid (CT) muscle is the primary muscle responsible for:
Answer: Lengthening and tensioning the vocal folds to raise fundamental frequency
The cricothyroid muscle tilts the cricoid posteriorly relative to the thyroid, stretching and tensioning the vocal folds to increase fundamental frequency.
When performing a voice evaluation, the clinician notes that the patient's voice improves significantly when speaking in a higher pitch. This finding is MOST suggestive of:
Answer: Muscle tension dysphonia with a depressed laryngeal posture
Patients with hypertensive MTD and a lowered laryngeal position often experience voice improvement at higher pitches because the larynx is lifted and muscle tension patterns shift.