Comparison of Mucosal Wave Magnitude: Presence, Extent, and Symmetry in Persons With and Without Voice Disorders

Heather Shaw Bonilha, Joanna Piasecki Whiteside, Terri Treman Gerlach**, Dimitar D. Deliyski

Visualization of the vocal fold structure and function is imperative for accurate diagnoses and optimal treatment for persons with voice disorders. With the advent of commercial high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) systems, an increased amount of variation has been appreciated in the diagnostically relevant features of mucosal wave presence, magnitude, and symmetry. Mucosal wave is a particularly important diagnostic feature since it has been shown to differentiate types of vocal fold lesions. This study presents findings from the assessment of mucosal wave from stroboscopy, HSV playback, mucosal wave playback, and mucosal wave kymography playback recorded from persons with voice disorders. Our prior normative findings for both habitual and pressed phonation are used as a comparison for discussing the results from persons with voice disorders. The overall results comparing findings from this study to those from the prior normative study include: an increased number of typical ratings of mucosal wave from HSV and stroboscopy, a similar amount of typical ratings from MWP and MKG, fewer ratings of decreased mucosal wave from all playbacks, and more ratings of increased mucosal wave from all playbacks. The results also demonstrate the significant role that gender, in terms of fundamental frequency, plays in the assessment of mucosal wave. Differences between the stroboscopic, HSV, and kymographic playbacks further elucidate the phenomenon of mucosal wave and the ways in which we perceive it during clinical evaluation. The differences in magnitude of mucosal wave between persons with and without voice disorders are evaluated with respect to type of disorder.

Heather Shaw Bonilha, Joanna Piasecki Whiteside, Terri Treman Gerlach**, Dimitar D. Deliyski
Communication Sciences and Disorders
University of South Carolina
1621 Greene Street, 6th floor
Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Tel: (803) 777-4822 Fax: (803) 777-3081
shawhs@gwm.sc.edu
joannapw@gmail.com
ddeliyski@sc.edu

Voice and Swallowing
Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates
6035 Fairview Road Charlotte, NC 28210, USA
Tel: (704) 609-5296 Fax: (704) 295-3253
tgerlach@ceenta.com