Spasmodic Dysphonia
Now, this condition is just one specimen in an entire genus known as focal dystonia, characterized by muscles misbehaving only during very specific tasks - Eric Boodman
image by: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr
HWN Suggests
The vodka trial: In search of a treatment for vocal disorders, a researcher puts patient anecdotes to the test
The disorder has a long history of diagnoses that ring with overtones of accusation. Nineteenth-century doctors, encountering symptoms they didn’t quite understand, imbued the bearers with a whiff of insanity; the condition was considered “of emotional origin” well into the twentieth. No coincidence, Simonyan points out, that laryngeal dystonia is much more prevalent in women than in men. “The assumption was that women are hysterical,” she said.
Slowly, the scientific literature began to change. In 1968, some New Mexican neurologists examined a distraught cattle auctioneer who’d been hospitalized after three years spent trying to recover his knack for rapid-fire bid calling. The…
Resources
Life With an Uncontrollable Voice
How we speak is a key part of first impressions, and disorders that impair speech lead to poorer quality of life.
What is Wrong with RFK, Jr.’s Voice?
The sound of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s voice has been in the news with his recent entry into the 2024 Presidential race. He has been public about being diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia.
How I ended the wrestling match between my brain and my throat
I always knew my voice sounded odd, but it took a diganosis of spasmodic dysphonia to explain why I was not speaking properly.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Can’t Stand His Own Voice, But Says It Keeps Getting Stronger: ‘I Apologize to Everybody’
“I had a very very strong voice until I was 42 years old,” RFK began. “In 1996 I had an injury that caused a neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia. And it make my voice like this – I cannot listen to my voice. When I go home I will not listen to this program,” he said, making Morgan chuckle.
Selma Blair Reveals Her MS Led to Spasmodic Dysphonia
But in the most common type of spasmodic dysphonia, the neurological signal that coordinates that muscle contraction causes spasms that push the vocal folds together too tightly—to the point that air can't get through, Dr. Akst says. That causes a specific speech pattern marked by a strained choppiness (referred to as "staccato breaks").
Spasmodic Dysphonia: a Laryngeal Control Disorder Specific to Speech
Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a rare neurological disorder that emerges in middle age, is usually sporadic, and affects intrinsic laryngeal muscle control only during speech. Spasmodic bursts in particular laryngeal muscles disrupt voluntary control during vowel sounds in adductor SD and interfere with voice onset after voiceless consonants in abductor SD. Little is known about its origins...
The Brain Wiring Behind a Frustrating Speech Disorder
Neurologists are searching for new ways to crack the riddle of spasmodic dysphonia.
The consequences of spasmodic dysphonia on communication-related quality of life: A qualitative study of the insider's experiences
Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a type of focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms of the laryngeal muscles. It is an adult-onset disorder of unknown etiology that is more prevalent in women than in men.
The vodka trial: In search of a treatment for vocal disorders, a researcher puts patient anecdotes to the test
Now, this condition is just one specimen in an entire genus known as focal dystonia, characterized by muscles misbehaving only during very specific tasks. One manifestation affects pianists’ fingers, another horn players’ mouths. As journalist David Owen writes, similar issues have historically interrupted work for everyone from telegraph operators to seamstresses, enamellers to cigarette makers, knitters to masons, while golfers know the dreaded damage it can do to your putting as “the waggles” or “the yips.”
Dysphonia International
The Vision of Dysphonia International is to ensure the ongoing viability of the organization that will continue to lead the effort to eradicate spasmodic dysphonia.
The Voice Foundation
Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a type of dystonia, a class of disorders caused by problems in the part of the brain that controls movement, resulting in involuntary movements in the affected body part.
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