{"id":50856,"date":"2011-11-21T08:49:29","date_gmt":"2011-11-21T13:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=50856"},"modified":"2014-01-17T08:50:55","modified_gmt":"2014-01-17T13:50:55","slug":"it%e2%80%99s-not-just-entertainers-who-experience-voice-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2011\/11\/it%e2%80%99s-not-just-entertainers-who-experience-voice-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not Just Entertainers Who Experience Voice Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Adele<\/a>
Adele performs in Seattle, Washington in 2011. (Nikotransmission on Flickr\/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In recent weeks, popular singers Adele and Keith Urban have canceled tours in order to undergo surgery to correct problems associated with their voices. Their stories draw attention to the need to precisely diagnose and treat voice problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur voice is something we take for granted until problems arise, and for some people that could affect their ability to make a living,\u201d says Dr. Denis Lafreniere<\/a>, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat expert), specialist in head and neck surgery, and director of the Voice and Speech Clinic at the University of Connecticut Health Center.<\/a><\/p>\n

The UConn clinic is one of a handful of comprehensive programs in New England that offers state-of-the-art technologies to diagnose and treat voice disorders, including speech therapy from voice-trained speech pathologists. For nearly 20 years, the clinic has provided care for local musicians and performers, including professionals with Hartford Stage, Connecticut Opera, and the Hartt School of Music, as well as people from many other professions who rely on their voices.<\/p>\n

\"Speech<\/a>
Speech pathologist Janet Rovalino and Dr. Denis Lafreniere of the Health Center's Voice and Speech Clinic review a video image of a patient's vocal cords. (Chris DeFrancesco\/UConn Health Center Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTeachers, broadcasters, sales representatives, ministers, lawyers, receptionists, parents \u2013 the list is lengthy,\u201d says Lafreniere.<\/p>\n

Based on descriptions in the media of Adele\u2019s and Urban\u2019s problems, the UConn team could help them both. According to news reports, Adele\u2019s surgery will repair hemorrhaged vocal cords and Urban will undergo surgery to remove a polyp on his vocal cords.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the UConn program works. A speech pathologist analyzes the functional realm of each patient\u2019s voice and Lafreniere focuses on contributing medical factors. Diagnoses and treatment plans are made after patients are evaluated by speech analysis computer software and\/or videostroboscopy. Treatment plans may consist of speech therapy, surgery, or a combination of these approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results can be dramatic. We\u2019ve videotaped patients before and after surgery or treatment, and the improvements are astonishing,\u201d Lafreniere says. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen countless singers and artists who successfully recovered from voice problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the Voice and Speech Clinic, call the Health Center at 800-535-6232 or visit http:\/\/uconnent.uchc.edu\/patientcare\/voice.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Follow\u00a0the UConn Health Center<\/a> on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a> and\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Health Center\u2019s Voice and Speech Clinic is a resource for all who use their voices every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":50858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[58],"class_list":["post-50856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uconn-health","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 23:15:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50856"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88514,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50856\/revisions\/88514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/50858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50856"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=50856"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=50856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}