Telepractice Versus In-Person Delivery of Voice Therapy for Primary Muscle Tension Dysphonia

TLDR

Although telepractice is endorsed by the American Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association, evidence for its use in treating primary muscle tension dysphonia has been lacking. The study investigated the utility of telepractice for delivering flow phonation exercises to persons with primary muscle tension dysphonia. Fourteen participants (seven on‑site, seven remote) received 12 flow‑phonation therapy sessions over six weeks, with pre‑ and post‑treatment auditory‑perceptual, acoustic, aerodynamic, and quality‑of‑life assessments. Post‑treatment perceptual and quality‑of‑life scores improved significantly and were equivalent between on‑site and remote groups, while acoustic and aerodynamic measures showed non‑significant improvements, demonstrating that flow‑phonation exercises are effective for MTD via telepractice.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of telepractice for delivering flow phonation exercises to persons with primary muscle tension dysphonia (MTD).Fourteen participants with a diagnosis of primary MTD participated, 7 on site and 7 at remote locations. Each participant received 12 treatment sessions across 6 weeks. Treatment consisted of flow phonation voice therapy exercises. Auditory-perceptual, acoustic, aerodynamic, and quality-of-life measures were taken before and after treatment.Perceptual and quality-of-life measures were significantly better posttreatment and were statistically equivalent across groups. Acoustic and aerodynamic measures improved in both groups, but changes did not reach statistical significance. Results for the 2 service delivery groups were comparable, with no significant differences observed for perceptual and quality-of-life measures.Although the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association supports the use of telepractice for speech-language pathology services, evidence for the use of telepractice for providing behavioral treatment to patients with MTD has been lacking. The results of this study indicate that flow phonation exercises can be successfully used for patients with MTD using telepractice.