The voice is a fragile instrument that configures and identifies us, a means by which we express our messages, in addition to publicizing moods; but the voice is also disturbed, sick and loses effectiveness. Childhood dysphonia It is a more common phenomenon than people think.
In children, the affectations of the voice are of short duration and are generally associated to illnesses (colds, flu ...) or to vocal excesses (shouts). Therefore, on many occasions we do not consider these vocal disorders as a sufficient reason to see a pediatrician.
Next we will talk a little about the main characteristics of childhood dysphonia, as well as its classification, risk factors and treatment and to continue facing a dysphonia.
What is childhood dysphonia?
We call dysphonia a the alteration of the acoustic qualities of the voice (frequency, intensity, timbre and duration). Total loss of voice is aphonia.
However, the same vocal manifestations deviated from the norm can be understood or not as pathological (for example: not reaching a specific musical note if there are musical concerns can be experienced as hell).
Parents get used to the acoustic characteristics of our children's voice and do not see them as altered. For his part, the child does not value his voice as negative, since it identifies a voice that is not “normal” with success in a competition or having enjoyed a party like the one that most.
Some manifestations of childhood dysphonia they are more evident than others and make parents request a medical consultation that will lead to the diagnosis of vocal disorder. Some of these manifestations are: make a lot of effort when speaking, don't shout, always speak very loudly…
On the other hand, music teachers are those who generally detect voice alterations in the school stage, informing parents of difficulties in making acute records or that there is no clear voice (“has a voice with a lot of air ").
There are also different unpleasant body sensations in the vocal gesture: fatigue, pain, foreign body sensation, stinging ... And sometimes, it is prioritized to improve these aspects before the voice itself.
It is known that many of the acoustic manifestations of the voice originate when there is a lesion in the larynx, so assessing the presence or not of said lesion is very important.
Finally, it should be borne in mind that an acoustically normal voice may not generate annoying sensations, but not be able to express desired ideas or feelings. An important part of communicative intentions is transmitted in the characteristics of the voice (when we shout for joy and euphoria, when we whisper a secret so that no one hears ...). The inability to give the voice different meanings generates an anxiety that further limits its expressive possibilities.
For all this, Childhood dysphonia should be understood from a set that encompasses the characteristics of the voice, gestures and comfort, lesions in the larynx and communicative efficacy..
Classification of childhood dysphonia
One of the most frequent classifications we can make of childhood dysphonia is:
- Functional dysphonia: all those dysphonia that have impaired vocal function, mainly caused by a disturbance of the vocal attitude (excessive shouting, being in environments with an inadequate humidity level ...). They can be complicated by organic lesions of the larynx caused by excessive strain or by transient organic alterations.
- Complicated Functional Dysphonia: are alterations in the vocal cords, caused by defective vocal behavior. In the case of children, the most frequent alteration of the vocal cords are the laryngeal nodules due to vocal abuse.
- Vocal abuse
- Family background
- Respiratory conditions
- Emotional state and psychological profile of the child
- Vocal models of the environment surrounding the child
Causes of childhood dysphonia
There is a great variability of origins of vocal lesions; one should not fall into the false belief that a child suffers a dysphonia exclusively by screaming too much. The different factors that can cause childhood dysphonia are:
Childhood dysphonia treatment
There are several therapeutic options in the approach to childhood dysphonia: supervision or follow-up by the pediatrician, laryngeal surgery, parent orientation work, speech therapy intervention, teacher orientation, psychomotor work, psychotherapy or even drug treatment.
The doctor will be the one who analyzes the factors of age, motivation of the child and parents, vocal needs of the patient, severity of the dysphonia, type of injury and the set of behavior to indicate the type, intensity and sequence of the treatments that should be Apply.
The goal of vocal reeducation is establish or restore the balance between the voice you have and the voice you want; that is, improve the child's quality of life.
Parents have a very important role in the treatment, as they are informed about what is intended and the guidelines that must be respected to achieve an optimal voice.
There may be problems in treatment because the child continues to perform a harmful voice pattern (shouting) at school, with their classmates. In addition, many times, it happens that parents themselves have bad habits when speaking. Because of all this, it could be difficult to change the entire cultural environment in which the child develops.
Conclusion
On several occasions, Child dysphonia is part of a much more complex picture: infectious processes, malformations, secondary to a hearing deficit, secondary to a language development deficit or even a personality problem. In these cases, dysphonia should be treated secondarily and priority will be given to the central panel.
In general, Dysphonia is a symptom that appears gradually, but with more marked episodes related to general health phenomena or abusive use of the voice.
And despite not being taken as something urgent to deal with, if it is necessary to understand the infantile dysphonia from an affectation in which the qualities of the voice, the gestural form and the comfort, the injuries and the communicative effectiveness of the child are involved.
