Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Disorders of Voice and Speech

Those affected by communication disorders are restricted in their communicative participation, which often affects health-related quality of life more than obvious physical ailments. These restrictions are recorded through self-assessments by those affected, and possibly also by relatives. They often have little correlation with objective parameters for quantifying the disorder. Health-related quality of life HRQoL is a non-disorder-specific parameter and does not reflect the type or extent of dysphonia, dysglossia or dysarthrophonia, nor the consequences of a possibly minor disorder in a speech-intensive occupation. Therefore HRQoL should be assessed in a standardized manner. Emotional and physical complaints influence both the self-perception of the extent of the disorder and thus the level of suffering. Recording them increases the success of the treatment and patient satisfaction.