General Medical Information

Voice Disorders In The Elderly

Byron J. Bailey

Vocal quality deteriorates with aging. Several anatomic and functional causes are known, such as ossification of the laryngeal cartilages, limitation of arytenoid cartilage excursion, incomplete glottic closure, decreased number of collagen and elastin fibers, and atrophy of the laryngeal muscles. The fundamental vocal frequency increases in most patients but may decrease if there is edema or polypoid degeneration of the vocal folds (especially in smokers). Vocal quality may deteriorate and may be quantifiable by jitter and shimmer scores or by detection of a senile vocal tremor. Other changes in vocal quality may result from unsuccessful efforts to compensate for the effects of aging.