There are a variety of ways to diagnose vocal fold paralysis. Important indications of possible causes can be revealed in the patient's medical history, which may inform which diagnostic approach is taken. Voice diagnostics are used to assess voice quality and vocal performance. Voice assessment is necessary to plan and estimate the success of a possible speech therapy.Vocal fold<unk> #cite note-12 An auditory-perceptual evaluation is conducted by a Speech-Language Pathologist (S-LP), and allows changes in voice quality to be monitored over time. There are two scales which can be used to subjectively measure voice quality: the GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain) and the CAPE-V (Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation of Voice). The GRBAS is used to rate the patient's voice quality on 5 dimensions: grade (overall severity), roughness, breathiness, asthenia (weakness) and strain. Each dimension will receive a severity rating from 0 (not present) to 3 (severe). This allows the S-LP to make a judgment about the overall severity of the voice quality. The CAPE-V is used in a similar manner, rating of the dimensions of voice quality on a subjective scale from 0–100, and using this to determine an overall severity score. In the presence of neural lesions with unknown cause, a thorough ENT endoscopy with additional imaging techniques (computed tomography (CT) of the chest, particularly in the case of left-sided paralyses, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the neck including the base of the skull and the brain, ultrasound examination of the neck) are performed to exclude tumors along the laryngeal nerves. When tumor formation is suspected, parts of the hypopharynx and the upper esophagus and passive mobility of the arytenoid cartilage are endoscopically examined under anesthesia. Voice diagnostics are used to assess voice quality and vocal performance. Voice assessment is necessary to plan and estimate the success of a possible speech therapy. In incompletely or only partially healed paralyses, stroboscopic larynx examinations yield a type of slow motion picture to assess tension and fine mobility of the vocal folds during vocalization. Stroboscopy and voice assessment are important to establish an individual treatment plan to improve the voice. Breathing tests (spirometry, body plethysmography) are used to measure impairment of respiratory flow through the larynx, particularly in patients with bilateral paralysis. Electromyography of the larynx muscles (larynx EMG), which measures the electrical activity of the larynx muscles via thin needle electrodes, allows better differentiation between a neural lesion and other causes of impaired mobility of the vocal fold and localization of the lesion along the nerve. The larynx EMG can, within limits, provide a prognosis of the development of a recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. Patients with a poor chance of healing can be identified at an early stage. Unfortunately, this advanced examination technique is not available in all treatment centers. The treating physician must view all examination results combined and establish an individual diagnosis and treatment plan for each patient. Classification vocal<unk>  positions regarding paralyses Vocal fold<unk>  refers to a partial loss of input to the nerve of the vocal folds. This loss of neural input leads to reduced vocal fold mobility. It is a condition with a variable profile, as the severity of the<unk>  can range on a wide continuum from minor to major loss of vocal fold mobility. Vocal fold paralysis, distinguished from vocal<unk> , is the total loss of vocal fold mobility due to a lack of neural input to the vocal folds. These conditions result from continuous damage to the laryngeal nerves and often lead to vocal disability. Recurrent laryngeal nerve damage is the most common cause of vocal fold<unk> . The RLN is responsible for motor input to the vocal folds. Physicians may also use the term recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. Additionally, superior laryngeal nerve damage (SLN) can also lead to vocal fold<unk> . The SLN is responsible for sensory input to the vocal folds. Due to its variable nature, the progression of vocal fold<unk>  may fluctuate, so it may be characterized differently from one evaluation to the next. Fluctuating vocal fold<unk>  has been observed in neurodegenerative disorders like Guillain–Barré syndrome or myasthenia gravis. The posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) is a muscle of the larynx that is responsible for pulling the vocal folds apart from one another. Vocal fold<unk>  describes the weakness of the PCA and an impairment to its functioning. Unilateral vocal fold<unk>  is the term used when there is damage to the RLN on one side of the body. In unilateral vocal fold<unk> , there is a lack of nerve supply to one side of the vocal fold's PCA muscle. This lack of nerve supply renders the arytenoid cartilage immobile. The RLN may be damaged during surgical procedures. The right RLN in particular, has a greater chance of being damaged during surgery due to its position in the neck. When both of the vocal folds' PCA muscles lack a nerve supply, the term bilateral vocal fold<unk>  is used. With bilateral vocal fold<unk> , a person's airway may become blocked as the muscles are unable to pull the vocal folds apart fully.
Vocal cord paresis
Vocal cord dysfunction
Facial nerve paralysis
Oropharyngeal dysphagia
Laryngotracheal stenosis
Laryngomalacia
Tracheal deviation
Glossoptosis