ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short term effect of hubble-bubble smoking on voice. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. MATERIAL: Eighteen non-dysphonic subjects (seven men and 11 women) with a history of hubble-bubble smoking and no history of cigarette smoking underwent acoustic analysis and laryngeal video-stroboscopic examination before and 30 minutes after hubble-bubble smoking. RESULTS: On laryngeal video-stroboscopy, none of the subjects had vocal fold erythema either before or after smoking. Five patients had mild vocal fold oedema both before and after smoking. After smoking, there was a slight increase in the number of subjects with thick mucus between the vocal folds (six, vs four before smoking) and with vocal fold vessel dilation (two, vs one before smoking). Acoustic analysis indicated a drop in habitual pitch, fundamental frequency and voice turbulence index after smoking, and an increase in noise-to-harmonics ratio. CONCLUSION: Even 30 minutes of hubble-bubble smoking can cause a drop in vocal pitch and an increase in laryngeal secretions and vocal fold vasodilation.
Subject(s)
Smoking/adverse effects , Speech Acoustics , Vocal Cords/pathology , Voice Disorders/pathology , Voice Quality/drug effects , Adolescent , Adult , Edema/epidemiology , Edema/etiology , Equipment Design , Erythema/epidemiology , Erythema/etiology , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Mucus , Pregnancy , Prospective Studies , Stroboscopy/methods , Vocal Cords/blood supply , Vocal Cords/physiopathology , Voice Disorders/diagnosis , Voice Disorders/etiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the prevalence of arytenoid asymmetry during adduction, and (2) to correlate arytenoid asymmetry with vocal symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The medical records and video recordings of 116 patients who presented to the voice clinic were reviewed for the presence of arytenoid asymmetry, as regards sharpening of the aryepiglottic fold angle and altered positioning of the cuneiform and corniculate cartilages. RESULTS: There were 61 males and 55 females, with a mean age of 39 years and a standard deviation of 15 years. Almost one-third had a history of reflux, 25 per cent had a history of smoking and 9.6 per cent had a history of allergy. Hoarseness was the most common symptom, occurring in 42.2 per cent of patients, followed by vocal fatigue (25 per cent) and inability to project the voice. The most common type of asymmetry was corniculate asymmetry, present in 27.6 per cent of the cases and accounting for 74.39 per cent of cases. This was followed by cuneiform cartilage asymmetry, present in 15.5 per cent of cases. There was no correlation between arytenoid asymmetry and vocal symptoms, except for vocal fatigue (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of arytenoid asymmetry during adduction is common. The presence of vocal symptoms such as hoarseness, breathiness, inability to project the voice and straining does not generally seem to correlate with the prevalence of arytenoid asymmetry. However, subjects with vocal fatigue are more likely to have cuneiform asymmetry.