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Speech and Hearing Center

Voice Therapy

Helping You Find a Healthy, Effective Voice

Your voice is an important part of how you communicate, connect with others, and participate in everyday life. When your voice becomes hoarse, weak, strained, unpredictable, or difficult to use, it can affect everything from having a conversation with family to performing your job.

The Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center provides comprehensive voice evaluations and individualized voice therapy for individuals experiencing a wide range of voice and upper airway concerns.

Our Voice Clinic combines specialized clinical expertise with state-of-the-art technology to identify factors contributing to voice difficulties and develop treatment based on each person’s individual needs and communication goals.

Who Can Benefit from Voice Therapy?

Our clinicians evaluate and treat individuals experiencing voice concerns associated with:

  • Persistent hoarseness
  • Vocal fatigue
  • Muscle tension dysphonia
  • Vocal fold nodules and other benign vocal fold lesions
  • Vocal fold weakness or paralysis
  • Age-related voice changes
  • Chronic cough
  • Exercise Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO), sometimes called vocal cord dysfunction
  • Neurological conditions affecting voice
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Changes in pitch
  • Puberphonia or mutational falsetto
  • Gender-affirming voice and communication needs
  • Professional or occupational voice demands
  • Other conditions affecting voice quality, strength, pitch, or endurance

Treatment recommendations are individualized based on the cause of the voice difficulty, how the voice is being used, and the individual’s personal communication goals.

Comprehensive Voice Evaluation

Understanding why a voice problem is occurring is an important first step in determining how to treat it.

Your first visit typically lasts approximately one to two hours and begins with an in-depth conversation about your voice concerns, medical history, how you use your voice, and the ways your voice difficulty affects everyday life.

Depending on your needs, your evaluation may include:

  • Listening to and analyzing voice quality
  • Measuring pitch, loudness, and other characteristics of the voice
  • Assessing respiratory support for speaking
  • Acoustic and aerodynamic voice measures
  • Assessment of vocal effort and endurance
  • Evaluation of how your voice responds to different techniques
  • Patient-reported measures of how voice difficulties affect daily life
  • Videostroboscopic examination of the vocal folds, when indicated

Following the evaluation, your clinician will review the findings with you, answer your questions, and discuss individualized recommendations.

Individualized Voice Therapy

Voice therapy is not one-size-fits-all.

Treatment is individualized based on the cause of the voice disorder, findings from your evaluation, how you use your voice, and what you need your voice to do in everyday life.

Therapy may focus on:

  • Reducing unnecessary effort or tension during speaking
  • Improving vocal efficiency
  • Increasing vocal strength or endurance
  • Improving coordination of breathing and voice
  • Developing healthier patterns of voice use
  • Managing occupational or professional voice demands
  • Improving vocal loudness when affected by neurological disease
  • Developing strategies for chronic cough or throat clearing
  • Learning breathing strategies for vocal cord dysfunction
  • Modifying pitch, resonance, or other aspects of voice based on individual goals

Treatment approaches may include resonant voice therapy, vocal function exercises, semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, respiratory and breathing techniques, visual or acoustic feedback, and other evidence-based approaches selected for the individual.

Chronic Cough

A persistent cough can significantly affect quality of life, particularly when coughing continues despite treatment of underlying medical causes.

For appropriate patients, behavioral cough suppression therapy may help individuals:

  • Recognize sensations or triggers associated with coughing
  • Use strategies to interrupt or suppress coughing episodes
  • Reduce throat clearing
  • Improve respiratory and laryngeal coordination
  • Develop strategies for managing environmental or behavioral triggers

Voice therapy for chronic cough is often provided as part of a broader medical management plan.

Vocal Cord Dysfunction

Some individuals experience episodes in which the vocal folds or surrounding structures narrow during breathing, making it feel difficult to get air through the throat. This is commonly referred to as vocal cord dysfunction.

Symptoms may include:

  • Sudden difficulty breathing
  • Tightness in the throat
  • Noisy breathing
  • Difficulty breathing during exercise
  • Episodes triggered by odors, irritants, stress, or other factors
  • Symptoms that may initially be mistaken for asthma

Treatment may include education, identification of triggers, respiratory retraining, and rescue breathing strategies designed to help manage episodes.

Gender-Affirming Voice and Communication Services

Voice is an important part of personal identity.

Our clinicians provide individualized services for people who want to explore or modify aspects of their voice and communication to better align with their personal goals.

Depending on the individual, therapy may address:

  • Pitch
  • Resonance
  • Intonation
  • Voice quality
  • Articulation
  • Nonverbal communication
  • Overall communication style
  • Vocal health and sustainability

Goals are developed collaboratively and are based on the individual’s preferences rather than a predetermined idea of how a voice “should” sound.

Professional Voice Users

For teachers, singers, coaches, clergy, healthcare professionals, performers, and others who rely heavily on their voices, even a relatively small voice problem can have a significant impact.

Evaluation and treatment can consider the unique demands placed on your voice and help you develop strategies for producing voice efficiently and sustainably.

Treatment may include education about vocal health, strategies for managing demanding speaking environments, and individualized exercises based on evaluation findings.

Insurance and Payment

The Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center bills insurance for voice evaluation and treatment services.

Insurance coverage and individual out-of-pocket costs vary by plan. Clients are encouraged to contact their insurance provider regarding coverage, copayments, deductibles, and any plan-specific requirements.

Our clinic staff can provide additional information about billing and payment options.

Schedule a Voice Evaluation

If changes in your voice are making it difficult to communicate comfortably or effectively, our team is here to help.

Contact the Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center at 304-696-3641 to schedule a comprehensive voice evaluation or learn more about voice therapy, videostroboscopy, chronic cough treatment, breathing therapy, or other specialized voice services.