Investigation of the efficacy of water through a straw on patients with vocal fold nodules and muscle tension dysphonia

The aim of this study is to investigate in which patient population (vocal fold nodules and muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is straw into water exercise more effective. The study was designed with pre-test post-test quasi-experimental research model. In the study, 6 sessions of therapy consisting of phonation exercises in water with a straw were performed with participants with MTD (n=5) and vocal fold nodules (n=5). In the sessions, plastic straws with a length of 25 cm and a diameter of 7 mm were used with reference to the studies in the literature. Pre-test and post-test measurements were taken from the participants before and after the 6 sessions. CAPE-V scores, maximum phonation time, Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) scores and acoustic parameters were used as variables. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, Mann Whitney U Test and descriptive analyses were used in data analyses. In the data analyses, it was found that there were significant changes in the voices of the participants after the therapies, which is similar to the studies in the literature. The effectiveness of the therapy was not found to be significantly different between the two groups. Keywords: Straw Phonation On Water Exercise, Semi-occluded Vocal Tract Exercises, Muscle Tension Dysphonia, Vocal Fold Nodule, Voice Therapy