Effect of singing training on total laryngectomees wearing a tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of a program of singing training on the voice of total laryngectomees wearing tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis, considering the quality of alaryngeal phonation, vocal extension and the musical elements of tunning and legato.


METHODS
Five laryngectomees wearing tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis completed the singing training program over a period of three months, with exploration of the strengthening of the respiratory muscles and vocalization and with evaluation of perceptive-auditory and singing voice being performed before and after 12 sessions of singing therapy.


RESULTS
After the program of singing voice training, the quality of tracheoesophageal voice showed improvement or the persistence of the general degree of dysphonia for the emitted vowels and for the parameters of roughness and breathiness. For the vowel "a", the pitch was displaced to grave in two participants and to acute in one, and remained adequate in the others. A similar situation was observed also for the vowel "i". After the singing program, all participants presented tunning and most of them showed a greater presence of legato. The vocal extension improved in all participants.


CONCLUSIONS
Singing training seems to have a favorable effect on the quality of tracheoesophageal phonation and on singing voice.
Department of Ophtalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Fernanda
F
Onofre
Hilton Marcos Alves
HM
Ricz
Telma Kioko
TK
Takeshita-Monaretti
Maria Yuka de Almeida
MY
Prado
Lílian Neto
LN
Aguiar-Ricz
D001307:Auditory Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007825:Laryngectomy / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D007831:Larynx, Artificial; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D010898:Pitch Perception; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods; D012132:Respiratory Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D063346:Singing; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D013071:Speech, Alaryngeal; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training