What is Presbyphonia and how to cure it?
The other form of laryngeal hypofunction is presbyphonia, which is the form of phonation of older people, generally over 65 years of age. It is produced by an atrophy of the vocal cords, due to multiple causes: alteration in the construction of the elastic fibers, decrease of the mucous glands, atrophy of the vocal muscle and decrease of the nerve endings.
Presbyphonia is manifested by an oval closure defect that produces an air voice. The image shows an indentation of the free edge of the vocal cord due to muscle atrophy. In other words, the mucosa does not have a completely straight line, so that when the vocal folds come together, this oval closure defect appears. The air voice is due to the permanent escape of air through the glottis. There are usually a number of concomitant factors: not only atrophy of the vocal folds, but also neurological and bronchopulmonary disorders, in addition to the general weakening phenomena of the elderly.
Treatment consists primarily of trying to improve the physiological or general condition of the elderly person; secondly, therapeutic ultrasound techniques can be used in conjunction with voice and breathing exercises.
