In this section
Speech and language therapy voice service
What do we do?
We offer a high quality, research and evidence based expert service, working as part of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Voice Service to: assess, diagnose, and treat voice disorders; and enable patients to understand and overcome their voice disorder, improve voice quality and throat comfort level, optimise voice use, and prevent future problems.
Our main objective is to enable patients to achieve a voice quality that serves their daily needs.
Description of service
Voice clinics - run jointly with ENT consultants:
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contributing to assessment, differential diagnosis, identifying of influencing factors, and likely prognosis
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facilitating selection of appropriate management strategies
Individual therapy - which may include:
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education in how the voice works
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education in the specific difficulty an individual is experiencing
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advice on vocal hygiene ~ how to look after the voice and throat
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exercises designed to make the throat feel easier and the voice to work better
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physical (manual) therapy designed to ease the throat and improve the voice
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psychological therapy related to voice
Individual therapy sessions are held in the speech and language therapy department, which is in the Head and Neck/ENT Department, off junction 1a of York Hospital.
Individual therapy sessions usually last for an hour. There can be some flexibility in negotiating dates and times, within the normal working week of 9:00am to 5:00pm, with some availability of 8:00am slots.
The number of sessions required varies from patient to patient.
How do you access us?
Referral
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GPs refer patients with voice problems to the voice clinic.
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Patients are jointly assessed at the voice clinic by the ENT consultant and speech and language therapist.
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Patients assessed as needing voice therapy are then given an appointment with a member of the speech and language therapy voice team.
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Referrals are also accepted from ENT consultants in general ENT clinics.
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Usually the patient would be referred to the voice clinic for joint assessment before proceeding with voice therapy.
