Recently, the NYU Department of Otolaryngology in conjunction with NYU Medical Center established the NYU Voice Center. The NYU Voice Center is a collaborative effort by NYU Department of Otolaryngology and NYU Medical Center aimed at treating patients with a variety of communication and swallowing problems in a multidisciplinary environment.
In the past few decades, the nation has undergone a fundamental change that has transformed us from an industrial society to a more service-oriented economy. With these changes has come an increasing emphasis on communication. Treatment of communication disorders in the past has focused on those severely affected. However, as more people rely on their ability to communicate for their livelihood, treatment of such disorders becomes more important.
Currently, it is estimated that between 5 and 10% of the population suffers from communication disorders.1 From national health data, it seems that these problems are more common in the Northeast and among lower income families.2 Additionally, communication disorders tend to affect the elderly (>65 yrs) more commonly than the younger population.1 As the population of the United States continues to age, and as older Americans continue to work, the impact of such problems is expected to increase. Currently, the economic impact of communication disorders is estimated to be from $154 billion to $186 billion annually, which is equal to 2.5% to 3% of the Gross National Product.1
Despite the importance of communicative disorders, there exist few centers dedicated to the treatment of patients with these problems. It is one major goal of the NYU Voice Center to improve the delivery of healthcare to the underserved population of patients that has voice and other communicative disorders.
The other major goal of this new Center is to provide state-of-the-art care to patients with swallowing disorders. Although the prevalence of swallowing disorders in the general population has not been well defined, swallowing dysfunction in selected populations has been well studied. Within the population of stroke patients, over 50% have difficulty with swallowing.3 Of patients with certain neuromuscular disorders (muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, dermatomyositis and polymyositis), the prevalence of feeding disability approaches 35%.4 In the elderly population, the prevalence of swallowing complaints was found in one published survey to be 35%.5 Similar to what was explained earlier, as the population ages, this latter number will become more significant.
The NYU Voice Center utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to arrive at a diagnosis and effectively treat the problem. A team of professionals, including specialists in otolaryngology, speech pathology, neurology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine and radiology collaborate to provide a balanced approach to solving the variety of problems that affect voice and swallowing disordered patients.
The NYU Voice Center provides state-of-the-art evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders affecting the throat. These may include sore throat, chronic cough, hoarseness, voice loss, or swallowing dysfunction. The Center also addresses disorders including benign and malignant growths, neurologic dysfunction (such as spasm, tremor, paresis, and paralysis), presbylaryngis, gastroesophageal reflux, as well as addressing external factors (such as allergies or inhaled toxins) and injuries related to overuse and misuse.
The NYU Voice Center also specializes in the care of the professional voice. This not only includes accomplished singers, but also singers-in-training, amateur singers, actors and other performers, teachers, lawyers, ministers, or any other professional who relies upon their voice to perform their job.
The establishment of the NYU Voice Center also represents the commitment of the Department of Otolaryngology and the Medical Center in furthering the understanding of communicative and swallowing disorders through research. The Center is dedicated to studying these disorders and working collaboratively with other researchers to discover new diagnostic and treatment modalities that will improve patient outcome.
References
1. Ruben,RJ. Redefining the survival of the fittest: communication disorders in the 21st century. Laryngoscope. 2000;110:241-245.
2. Belafsky, P. C. and Koufman, J. A. The Epidemiology of Voice Disorders. 2000. (Unpublished Work)
3. Mann,G, Hankey,GJ, Cameron,D. Swallowing disorders following acute stroke: prevalence and diagnostic accuracy. Cerebrovasc.Dis. 2000;10:380-386.
4. Willig,TN, Paulus,J, Lacau Saint,GJ, Beon,C, Navarro,J. Swallowing problems in neuromuscular disorders. Arch.Phys.Med.Rehabil. 1994;75:1175-1181.
