Dysphonia is the most important symptom of larynx diseases. Although its Turkish equivalent is hoarseness, it is a more inclusive expression that refers not only to hoarseness but also to all disorders in the voice. Dysphonia occurs when the vibratory function of the vocal folds is impaired or mucosal irregularity occurs above the vocal folds.
Underlying problems such as the onset and duration of hoarseness, changes in voice quality, smoking and alcohol use, occupation, misuse and excessive use of voice, operation or thyroid pathology should be investigated. In addition, dysphagia, odynophagia, hemoptysis and pain accompanying hoarseness provide information about the character of the lesion.
Dysphonias can be divided into acute and chronic according to the duration of occurrence, and organic and functional according to the form of occurrence. If the cause of the voice disorder can be revealed by examination and tests, organic dysphonia can be mentioned. Many causes such as congenital malformations, laryngeal traumas, infectious processes, neoplastic changes, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders can be etiology in organic dysphonia. Dysphonia that develops despite the absence of an anatomical or physiological pathology is called functional dysphonia. Dysphonias caused by the use of only voice without an organic pathology.
Dysphonia assessment should be multidimensional. Evaluation methods that can be used in the evaluation of dysphonia by the European Laryngological Society are grouped under 5 headings. These:
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Laryngeal imaging,
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Auditory-perceptual evaluation,
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Aerodynamic measurements,
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Acoustic analysis and
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Scales scored by the patient were defined as assessment methods.
