DYSPHONIA IN THE ELDERLY - DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF AGE-RELATED VOICE CHANGES

In our laryngology practice, we have noted an increasing number of eld erly patients referred to us for problematic dysphonia. We present our findings of the most common disorder affecting this age group. A samp le of 47 consecutive patients over age 60 with dysphonia revealed pres bylaryngis, ie, age-related anatomic and physiologic changes, as the m ost common etiology found in this tertiary referral practice, accounti ng for 30% (14 patients) of new diagnoses. None of the patients with p resbylaryngis received this diagnosis from the referral source, Unders tanding the anatomic and physiologic changes of the aging vocal tract, along with the clinical correlation of each change, is crucial in eva luating this group of patients. Managing this disorder includes specif ic goal-oriented speech therapy, with surgery as an adjunct should con servative therapy prove unsuccessful. Earlier recognition of this diso rder and prompt intervention are key factors in reversing vocal decomp ensation, with a primary effect of improving the quality of life for t he patient with age-related dysphonia.