Voice & Swallowing Disorders

As a professional speaker, actor or singer, you rely on your voice for your livelihood. But anyone may experience illness or injury in organs and tissues of the throat that can harm your voice and your ability to communicate.

Comprehensive Care Close to Home

Select the specialized care available at OU Health’s Voice Disorders Center in Oklahoma City to help you promptly address swallowing and voice-related issues to ensure quick repair for harm you may have experienced to your larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe) or esophagus.

Voice- or Swallowing-Related Conditions & Symptoms

Take action to support your voice and throat when you or your loved ones face symptoms of vocal cord disorders, vocal cord dysfunction, voice disorders or conditions such as:

• Extended vocal warm-up needed before speaking or performing
• Prolonged hoarseness
• Swallowing difficulties
• Tracheoesophageal puncture
• Vocal breathiness
• Voice fatigue
• Voice spasms

Non-Surgical & Surgical Treatments

At OU Health’s Voice Disorders Center, you can take advantage of unique diagnostic technology not available anywhere else in Oklahoma to identify the source of your vocal or swallowing problem (dysphagia), as well as both non-surgical and surgical options for your treatment. Some laryngeal surgery procedures may be offered in your specialist’s office on an outpatient basis. You’ll also gain access to:

• Evaluation and voice therapy by a speech pathologist
• Injections of botulinum toxin (Botox®) for the larynx
• Laryngoplasty (medialization thyroplasty) for vocal cord paralysis or muscle weakness (paresis)
• Vocal cord injections
• Vocal cord microsurgery (microlaryngoscopy)

Your Voice Disorders Care Team

When you work with the Voice Disorders Center at OU Health, you benefit from an experienced team of ear/nose/throat (ENT) specialists, who also collaborate with colleagues across multiple health disciplines to develop the personalized care plan that fits your specific situation.