q
“I had my laryngectomy
Lesley Dempsey
Sally Lane
Ask The
Experts
Lesley Dempsey and Sally Lane
are Clinical Nurse Specialists at
the University Hospital Aintree
in Liverpool. Their extensive
combined experience with larys
makes them the go-to people for all
your questions and advice.
This issue we’ve heard from Hazel
Barker – a member of The Quiet
Ones laryngectomy group based
in Oldham and Lesley Jennings
whose mother is a fairly new
laryngectomee.
operation three years ago. I
have always had a quiet voice.
My Speech Therapist told me
that the probable cause is
hypotonicity.”
“When I squeeze the sides of my neck,
the volume of my ‘voice’ increases
considerably. There are several articles
written on this topic. They mention an
elastic band that fits around the neck.
My Speech Therapist has never seen
one of these bands, nor where they
can be obtained. Do they need to be
specially fitted? I would appreciate any
information you can give me on this
subject.”
Hazel Barker
Hypotonicity refers to unusually low
muscle tension in the neck. And, as Hazel
has experienced, the increased flaccidity
of the muscles can affect the ability to
speak at a ’normal’ volume.
As usual, we turned to Lesley and Sally,
and, in search of the very best advice,
they referred to their colleague, Eileen
Gilmartin, Deputy Head of Service and
Specialist Speech and Language Therapy
Coordinator in Head and Neck Surgery
at the Aintree University Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust.
A
Eileen told us that, “Any type of ‘band’
that applies pressure to this area would
be sufficient, e.g. a tie or cravat, but I’m
not sure if you can actually get custom
made bands in this country. They are
talked about and available in the USA,
I am told but, from what I have heard
don’t sound to be very effective for
all people with hypotonic vibratory
12 THE VOICE | Autumn 2011