Overview
The Pediatric Voice Center at Cleveland Clinic Children's is a multidisciplinary clinic with experts from Pediatric Otolaryngology, Laryngology, and Speech Language Pathology who uniquely focus on voice disorders in children and young adults.
Symptoms that your child may have a voice problem can include: hoarse or breathy voice, loss of voice, voice that is too soft or too loud, discomfort to talk or sing, effort/strain, or inappropriate pitch for the child’s age.
Voice disorders require specialized tests and tools to determine the nature and extent of the problem. We will be asking you and your child questions about how his or her voice affects daily life. We work closely with Child Life to make your child as comfortable as possible while we listen to their voice, perform voice analysis, and perform videostroboscopy. Videostroboscopy involves using a small camera either through the nose or mouth to get high-definition pictures of your child's voicebox. We then work with you as a team to determine a treatment plan.
Voice Therapy at Cleveland Clinic Children's
Most voice problems are managed with behavioral voice therapy as first-line treatment. In addition to direct work with a speech-language pathologist who specializes in voice rehabilitation, families are trained in activities to complete at home to support improved and efficient voice use. The frequency of voice therapy sessions may vary, but will start with bi-weekly or monthly appointments, 30-60 minutes in duration.
If surgery is recommended, our surgeons are trained in specialized techniques using a microscope that reduce tissue harm and promote faster healing.
Together, we aim to provide the best possible voice for your child.
What We Treat
- Change in voice.
- Choking on food.
- Decreased projection.
- Difficulty with vocal range.
- Dysphonia.
- Muscle tension dysphonia.
- Effortful singing or talking.
- Hoarseness.
- Loss of voice.
- Raspy voice.
- Resonance disorder.
- Velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD).
- Vocal cord buildup of scar tissue.
- Vocal cord diseases.
- Vocal cord lesions.
- Nodules.
- Polyps.
- Vocal cord paralysis.
- Vocal fatigue.
- Weakness in voice.
Our Team
Our Pediatric Otolaryngologists work with Speech Language Pathologists to diagnose and treat children’s voice disorders.
Pediatric Otolaryngologists
Swathi Appachi, MD
Director, Pediatric Voice Center
Paul Bryson, MD, MBA
Director, Cleveland Clinic Voice Center
Appointments & Locations
Evaluations
Comprehensive voice evaluations are completed by both Otolaryngologists and Speech Language Pathologists who specialize in pediatric voice disorders. A complete voice evaluation includes videostroboscopy (a slow motion video of the vocal cords) as well as acoustic, aerodynamic, and perceptual measures of vocal quality.
After our team evaluates your child’s voice, we will discuss treatment options with you and your child and develop a personalized treatment plan.
Appointments
To schedule an appointment for a voice evaluation, call 216.444.8500.
If you have already had a voice evaluation and have been referred for voice therapy, please call 216.444.0322 to schedule an appointment.
Locations
We see patients at Cleveland Clinic's main campus. Our offices are located in:
A Building - Crile Building – A71
2049 East 100th Street
Cleveland, OH 44195
R Building - Cleveland Clinic Children's Outpatient Center
8950 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Resources
- Cleveland Clinic's Health Library: A-Z list of ENT-related topics
- Cleveland Clinic Children's Child Life Services: Child Life Services offers surgery tours and a variety of programs to help your child prepare for surgery and during their inpatient stay.
- Children with Medical Handicaps Program (BCMH)
- Pediatric ENT contact number for BCMH: 216.445.0075; option 4
- Fresh Air Camp
- American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation
- Voice Foundation
Cleveland Clinic Children’s Healthy Living Programs
Healthy eating and physical activity habits are key to your child's well-being. Eating too much and exercising too little can lead to childhood obesity resulting in excess weight and related health problems that can follow children into their adult years. You can take an active role in helping your child— and your whole family— develop healthy eating and physical activity habits that can last for a lifetime. Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Children’s have resources available to parents and kids to keep them healthy, including specialists, community and school based programs, and information to help you make healthy choices at meal time.
Health Essentials
Find helpful posts from Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials site. Discover the latest voice health and wellness tips for children.
- After Ear Tube Surgery: What’s Normal, What’s Not
- Does Your Child Have Hearing Loss — and Is It Temporary?
- Does Your Child Snore? 5 Signs of Trouble
- Getting Too Many Nosebleeds? When You Should Worry
- Is It Time to Have Your Child’s Tonsils Removed — Adenoids Too?
- Preserve Your Voice Through the Years: 10 Tips
At Home / Postoperative Instructions
The following instructions will help you to know what to expect in the days following surgery. Do not hesitate to call if you have questions or concerns.
