More
than 6% of the world’s population has hearing, voice and speech disorders and
this number is expected to increase in the Arab region.
Dr.
Yasser Natour, assistant professor in the Department of Language and Speech
Diseases in the United Arab Emirates University, said that the treatment of
voice disorders has changed with time with the focus now on breathing,
pronunciation and resonance, underlining the importance of physiological
exercises such as throat massage and vocal function.
Speaking
to Jawhara prior to his participation in the ninth Middle East Update in
Otolaryngology Conference & Exhibition in Dubai from 22 till 24 April, Dr.
Natour said that the term “voice disorders” meant a person suffering from
disorders in the voice’s quality, range and pitch compared to other persons of
the same age, gender, cultural background and geographical zone.
Dr.
Natour advises patients to pay attention to continuous changes in the voice’s
quality, including hoarseness or total voice loss. Among other symptoms, a
continuous sore throat and a feeling that the voice is stuck in the throat, a
tired voice and voice cracks could be signs that treatment is required.
Dr.
Natour recommends patients to drink plenty of water as vocal folds/chords vibrate
better when there’s enough humidity in the body, and to not smoke.
In
addition, he stressed the importance of exercising the vocal folds/chords.
“The
easiest exercise is saying ‘ah’, ranging from a low to high pitch and vice
versa many times during the day and try to relax the voice by avoiding
screaming or talking loudly. If you have a cold or flu it’s better to talk less
and to rest your voice.”
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