What to expect when having a laryngoscopy

[Patient briefly singing]

[Text on screen: Bizhou Chang
Soprano
Opera Columbus]

Bizhou Chang: Somewhere over the rainbow...

[Text on screen: Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP
Speech language pathologist
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

[Music playing]

Michelle Soummers: Vocal healthcare is an area of health where an ENT or a laryngologist might work with a speech language pathologist and sometimes even a singing health specialist or a music therapist together to diagnose and treat voice disorders. Laryngoscopies are typically not painful, but it really does depend on the person and their pain tolerance. There are a lot of steps when you are getting ready for a scope. You would sit down, we would talk to you about the scope first. We would numb your nose. The doctor would probably do a head and neck exam first, looking at your ears, your mouth, your nose. And then once we start with the scope, we would tell you as we're passing it through your nose, this is going to be a little bit of pressure as we pass this through your nose. 

[Speech language pathologist Michelle Soummers is now addressing the patient and providing instructions] 

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: We're at the velopharyngeal port, go ahead and say pop, pop, pop.

Bizhou Chang: Pop, pop, pop.

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: Good, again for me.

Bizhou Chang: Pop, pop, pop.

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: And shh.

Bizhou Chang: Shh.

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: Good. And then just breathe through your nose.

[Michelle Soummers again explaining the procedure to the viewers]

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: We would look at the back of your nose, and then we would pass it down into your throat. We would have you do different tasks like saying ee, ee, ee as we look at your vocal cords move. 

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: Hee, hee, hee.

Bizhou Chang: Hee, hee, hee.

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: We would have you do a glide like eeee, so we can see how your vocal cords close, and then how your throat squeezes. Eeee.

Bizhou Chang: Eeee.

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: People who use their voice professionally will be asked to sing during the scope typically. 

[Patient singing during the appointment]

Michelle Soummers, MA, CCC-SLP: After a laryngoscopy, you shouldn't be having any discomfort or anything. Typically, if it's done correctly, you shouldn't have really felt it much.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit:
go.osu.edu/worldvoiceday25]

[Music fades]