The vocal capability battery is a variable set of vocal tasks that the clinician elicits from the patient in order to understand the individual’s vocal capabilities and vocal limitations. During the vocal capability battery, the clinician might assess average/anchor pitch, maximum range, ability to add loudness, sustained phonation (for stability), swelling checks of mucosal injury, maximum phonation time, and response to brief trial therapy.
Assessment of Vocal Phenomenology Protects from Visual Red Herrings
Swelling? (1 of 2)
The vocal cords of a physical education teacher with mild, intermittent ‘hoarseness’ and cracking of voice. Given her occupation, the mind goes to “voice abuse” and the margin swelling seen here might play into the diagnosis of “vocal overdoer with mucosal injury.” However, the vocal capability battery (voice testing) protects from a misdiagnosis.
Spasmodic dysphonia (2 of 2)
During the vocal capability testing (part 2 of the Integrative Diagnostic Model), one hears no significant mucosal swelling phenomenology (during application of vocal cord swelling checks), but instead a quivery, jittery instability. The actual diagnosis? Spasmodic dysphonia.
