Conventional Versus Telepractice Delivery of Eclectic Voice Therapy in Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders: An Efficacy Study.

OBJECTIVES

Literature supports the use of eclectic voice therapy in the treatment of Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders (HFVD). Nevertheless, limited studies have assessed and compared outcomes of conventional and telepractice approaches in the management of HFVD. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine and compare the efficacy of an eclectic voice therapy program through conventional versus telepractice mode in HFVD.

METHOD: In total, 40 individuals with HFVD aged 18-60 years attended 15 sessions of the eclectic voice therapy program, with each session lasting 40 minutes. About 20 participants in Group 1 received eclectic voice therapy via conventional mode, and 20 in Group 2 received it via telepractice. Stroboscopy examination was performed at pre and post therapy. Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) Kannada, Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI), Voice Handicap Index in Kannada (VHI-K), and Vocal Fatigue Index in Kannada (VFI-K) were obtained at pre therapy, post therapy, and 2 follow-ups.

RESULTS

Stroboscopy revealed notable improvement, and CAPE-V, AVQI, VHI, and VFI decreased from pre therapy to post therapy and follow-up evaluations in both the groups. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed no significant differences between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). Friedman's test indicated an overall significant difference (P < 0.01) across all four time points within Groups 1 and 2.

CONCLUSION

The current study provided evidence to support the efficacy of eclectic voice therapy in HFVD. Both the conventional and telepractice modes of voice therapy were equally effective in treating HFVD. However, future studies employing random assignment and a larger sample size are warranted to strengthen the generalizability of the findings.