What is it about?
Individuals diagnosed with asthma are at higher risk for development of a voice disorder. Our study found that the volunteers with asthma who took an inhaler every day had vocal folds that looked redder and they had higher scores on the Voice Handicap Index than a control group of volunteers without asthma. These findings provide some evidence that individuals with asthma who take a daily inhaler may have changes in their vocal folds before they are aware of a voice disorder.
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Why is it important?
We provided the first published evidence of vocal fold tissue changes in individuals who have asthma and take an inhaler every day without reporting any voice impairment.
Perspectives
For many people referred to me for a voice assessment and treatment, a diagnosis of asthma and use of a daily inhaler were critical factors to consider for their assessment findings. This investigation allowed me to study vocal function in folks with asthma who use a daily inhaler but report no history of voice disorder. This exploratory data will help me better understand how vocal pathology may develop in its earliest stages in individuals with asthma, before it is even detected.
Dr. Mary J Sandage
Auburn University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A Multimodal Study of Vocal Function in Individuals With Asthma Versus Controls: An Exploratory Investigation, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, October 2026, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),
DOI: 10.1044/2026_persp-26-00080.
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