Sarah: A Premiere Speech and Hearing Success Story

Kristin Park, MS CCC-SLP

Over the next few months, our Speech blog will highlight some stories of patients who received therapy at Premiere Speech and Hearing. Names and identifiable information have been changed for privacy, but the success is real! This month’s success story is about a 34 year old woman, “Sarah”. A 34-year-old woman, Sarah, sought voice therapy services after being diagnosed with vocal nodules by her ENT. Sarah developed vocal nodules over a period of several months, most likely due to overuse and misuse of her voice. Sarah talked a lot on the phone for her job. She also had two young children and spent a lot of time “speaking loudly” to them, as she worded it. These activities caused Sarah to strain her voice, which eventually led to vocal nodules and a raspy vocal quality. In Sarah’s words, her voice “was not her own anymore”. Sarah began weekly therapy sessions at Premiere after a thorough evaluation. Her main goals were to improve her vocal quality, learn healthy voice habits, and heal her vocal nodules through these behavioral changes. Sarah learned ways to produce voice without straining or causing extra damage to her vocal cords. She implemented lifestyle modifications such as increasing hydration, managing her reflux, and alternative ways to get her kids’ attention. Sarah completed every take-home assignment and earnestly practiced her voice exercises. She even enlisted the help of her family members, who were all interested to hear what she’d learned after each therapy session. After 7 weekly therapy sessions, Sarah exhibited a noticeable change in her vocal quality. She was no longer raspy! She occasionally still had some pitch breaks when speaking for long periods of time, but felt much more confident and “in control” of her voice. Sarah remarked that she “had her voice back” and was determined to continue her new vocal habits. By the final re-evaluation, Sarah had mastered her vocal goals and was ready to be discharged. She was given a weekly voice protocol to follow at home and was good to go!