Better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for voice problems caused by vocal overuse and tension
Clinical Research Center for the Improved Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Vocal Hyperfunction
This program develops new ways to prevent, find, and treat voice problems caused by using the voice too hard or by excess throat muscle tension for people with hoarseness, nodules, polyps, or muscle tension dysphonia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11517730 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I join, I would be part of work that combines clinic visits, wearable voice monitoring, and lab studies to understand why vocal overuse and tension cause voice problems. The team includes clinicians, speech scientists, engineers, and psychologists who study behavior, sensorimotor control, environment, emotions, and throat mechanics. They plan to collect real-world voice-use data, run patient assessments, and test behavioral therapy approaches to improve diagnosis and therapy. Results will be translated into practical clinical tools and prevention strategies to help people keep their voices healthy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with hoarseness or voice changes from vocal hyperfunction, including those with vocal nodules, polyps, or muscle tension dysphonia and high-voice-use occupations like teachers or singers.
Not a fit: People whose voice problems are primarily caused by unrelated structural disease (for example vocal fold cancer) or by clear neurological paralysis of the vocal folds may not benefit from these approaches.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to earlier detection of harmful voice use, more effective voice therapies, and fewer surgeries or long-term voice problems.
How similar studies have performed: Behavioral voice therapy and ambulatory voice monitoring have shown benefit for many patients, but combining these methods in a multidisciplinary center to improve prevention and diagnosis is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hillman, Robert E — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Hillman, Robert E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.