Dr. Morton Cooper reports outstanding results from using Direct Voice Rehabilitation (DVR) with Muscle Tension Disorder voices. (Muscle Tension Disorder is also known as Myasthenia Laryngis, Voice Suicide, or Misphonation.)

Dr. Cooper’s success and cures of this condition were detailed in his textbook Modern Techniques of Vocal Rehabilitation in 1973. From that time on, Dr. Cooper reports faster results because of discoveries he has made with locating the right pitch of voice, the right placement of voice, the better way to breathe right for speaking, and focusing in on the voice image and voice identity, which he finds are all key to successful voice rehabilitation.

Dr. Cooper’s unique program of direct voice rehabilitation has treated thousands of muscle tension disorder cases successfully.

Functional Misphonia vs. Dysphonia

“Functional misphonia” refers to functional “wrong voice.” This type of voice may also be termed “tired voice” or “weak voice,” with or without laryngeal or pharyngeal tensions. Functional misphonia is a major group within the category of functional dysphonia.

The term functional misphonia is used to differentiate this particular type of dysphonia from functional dysphonia, which includes falsetto, spastic dysphonia, incipient spastic dysphonia, and hysterical dysphonia, among others. Incipient spastic dysphonia (a less severe form of spastic dysphonia) is frequently a forerunner of spastic dysphonia.

Clinical Study

Dr. Cooper is the author of the report published in the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1974. His Direct Voice Rehabilitation techniques had a 98% success ratio covering many different types of voice problems in this study.

The 155 patients (152 adults and three boys) underwent vocal rehabilitation for 14 types of medically-diagnosed functional and organic dysphonias.

Types of dysphonias in the study included nodules, contact ulcer, polyps, polypoid degeneration, keratosis, leukoplakia, bowed vocal folds, paralytic dysphonia, ventricular phonation, spastic dysphonia, incipient spastic dysphonia, hysterical dysphonia, falsetto, and functional misphonia.

The age of the adult patients ranged from 15 years to 73 years. The three boys were 13 (with contact ulcer), 12 (with nodules), and 11 (with functional misphonia).

Spectrographic analysis was used as a clinical tool to describe and compare fundamental frequencies and hoarseness in dysphonic patients before and after vocal rehabilitation and to evaluate a technique for locating the natural or optimal pitch level.

The results indicated that 150 out of 155 patients were using too low a pitch before therapy. Before therapy, varying degrees of hoarseness were found in all 27 patients. After therapy, the patients were basically free of hoarseness.

Three months to seven years after the completion of vocal rehabilitation, 98% of the 128 patients who were re-examined had remained excellent or good.

Testimonials

A few testimonials from former MTD patients: