Investigative study on adductor spasmodic dysphonia

Abstract

A questionnaire investigation about adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) was conducted on 43 ADSD patients. Questions asked for responses concerning gender, age of onset, duration of illness, treatment method and therapeutic effect. In more than 50% of the patients, onset occurred in their teens, followed by onset in their twenties and thirties. The average period until diagnosis as ADSD was 6 years and 8 months. Most of the patients visited several medical institutions before reaching a proper diagnosis, the average number of hospitals being 4.2. In all patients, surgery resulted in improvement of their symptoms. Voice therapy was also effective, but half of the patients answered that there were no changes. Both medication and counseling therapy failed to improve their symptoms. Many patients obtained information from the internet and the mass media, while quite less information was received from their doctor. These results indicate that ADSD must be more widely recognized, especially among doctors.