A new USF Health study published Sept. 9 in the journal Menopause provides a comprehensive and innovative examination of a previously underexplored phenomenon: vocal changes that women may experience during menopause, often the result of falling levels of estrogen and progesterone.
The groundbreaking paper from a group led by Yael Bensoussan, MD, MSc, inaugural director of the USF Health Voice Center in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and Rupal Patel, PhD, professor at Northeastern University, explains that those most likely to suffer unwanted voice changes — resulting in roughness, hoarseness and a loss of vocal stability — are women who use their voices professionally, such as teachers, actors and especially singers.
Voice production is a complex physiological process requiring “the precise coordination of multiple systems: respiration, phonation, articulation and resonance,” said Dr. Bensoussan and her collaborators.
They explain that even small disruptions to any one of those elements can have an adverse impact on vocal function. Vocal folds within the larynx rely on musculature, mucosal pliability and proper airflow from the lungs to create sound. And the specific balance of tension and elasticity of the vocal cords plays a key role in vocal quality.
Furthermore, the paper finds, “hormonal fluctuations play a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of laryngeal tissues.”
The paper details a wide range of options for treatment.
