Organic voice tremor is a neurogenic voice disorder of adulthood that most often occurs as a component of essential or hereditofamilial tremor; it may occur by itself, however. Organic voice tremor must be distinguished from other conditions, which also present with voice disturbances in the early stages. These include Parkinsonism, cerebellar disease, thyrotoxicosis, and anxiety.
Organic voice tremor is a disorder of voice production characterized by unsteadiness of pitch and loudness and quavering intonation. In some patients, it may result in rhythmic arrests of voicing that occur at a rate of four to six per second. Voice quality is characterized by harshness, vocal strain, abnormally low pitch, and voice stoppages. Laryngeal examination typically reveals vocal folds of normal appearance, with no evidence of aberrant innervation. The abnormal oscillations of the larynx occur as a result of vigorous up-and-down vertical movements that occurred synchronously with the oscillation of the tremor. The quavering speech quality that characterizes organic voice tremor has been thought to include extralaryngeal influences arising from tremors in the diaphragm, lips, and tongue (Critchley, 1949; Tomoda, et al., 1985).
The origin of organic voice tremors has not been conclusively determined, though aging and occlusive arterial disease are thought to contribute significantly to the effects. Critchley (1949) showed that essential tremor occurred in persons with confirmed lesions in the brain stem, basal ganglia (e.g., putamen and lentiform nuclei) and within neural connections joining the red nucleus, dentate nucleus, and inferior olive. Vocal tremors usually coexist with tremors in the head and limbs, but may be localized entirely
Organic voice tremor is a condition that usually occurs in persons over age 50. Males and females appear to be affected equally. Specific incidence data are not available.
Organic voice tremor is thought to result from neural degeneration in one or more regions of the extrapyramidal system. It usually is part of a more general condition of tremor involving the head, neck, and limbs called essential tremor. For some individuals, these changes are inherited and may occur in several members of the same family, sometimes occurring in successive generations. These persons are said to have hereditofamilial tremor. When the onset of organic voice tremor is rapid, the etiology may result from occlusive vascular disease (Brown and Simonson, 1963). When it is gradual, the etiology is likely related to progressive changes in several locations in the brain stem or basal ganglia.
Persons with organic voice tremor usually experience changes in voice slowly. In addition to changes in voice quality and reduced stability in pitch, loudness, and vocal flexibility, some patients may experience tremor in the pharynx, lips, and jaw. Some patients experience difficulties in initiating or maintaining voicing or experience sudden loss of voice during conversation. In addition to vocal tremor, some patients experience spasms in the diaphragm and expiratory musculature (Tomoda, et al., 1987), which may contribute to instability within the vocal tract and add to the quavering property of the voice.
Organic voice tremor is usually made by examination of a neurologist and speech-language pathologist. Detailed history and medical examination is essential to determine if disruptions in voice functioning are related to other neurological conditions such as Parkinsonism, cerebellar disease,
The treatment team for organic voice tremor consists of a neurologist, otolaryngologist, and speech-language pathologist.
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Author Info: Joel C. Kahane PhD, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit, Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders, 2005 |