A stuffy nose, facial pressure and a diminished sense of smell are familiar symptoms for people with chronic sinus problems. Changes to the voice may be less obvious.
Researchers in Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University are exploring a connection patients may not always recognize: the relationship between sinus conditions and voice problems.
“A lot of voice patients complain that they have sinus problems or allergies, but they don’t really realize that it’s something that is actionable and that they can do something about it,” said Victoria Reynolds, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Speech-Language Pathology in the Ellmer College of Health Sciences at Old Dominion University.
Dr. Reynolds and Kent Lam, MD, a rhinologist and associate professor of otolaryngology at Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University, are bringing together expertise in speech-language pathology and rhinology in order to better understand that connection.
The project was made possible by the integration of Eastern Virginia Medical School into Old Dominion University.
“I think the integration allowed for more collaboration on the research side and then also on the clinical side,” Dr. Lam said. “In the past, our paths would not have crossed.”
Dr. Reynolds traces the partnership to a joint research symposium she attended, where a conversation with a research administrator about her work eventually connected her with Dr. Lam.
“Without the integration, I don’t think I would be able to go to Dr. Lam’s clinic and see patients,” Dr. Reynolds said. “This is something that’s come about because we now have this connection.”
That connection brings together researchers who approach the airway from different perspectives. Dr. Lam specializes in conditions of the nose and sinuses, including chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Dr. Reynolds’ clinical and research experience focuses on voice and voice disorders.
“There’s more and more research suggesting that inflammation in part of the airway tends to extend along the airway,” Dr. Reynolds said. “There’s a lot of research looking at the sinuses and the nose and the lungs, but of course, sitting right in the middle is the voice box, and it does tend to get overlooked a little bit.”
The researchers are recruiting patients with allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis or both conditions from Dr. Lam’s clinic, along with a control group, to examine voice symptoms and their effects on daily life.
“There are other folks who are doing this kind of research, but ours is going to be a little bit unique, because we’re really trying to get at the symptomatology,” Dr. Reynolds said. “What’s happening in your throat? What is happening in your voice? How is it affecting you socially? How is it affecting you physically?”
The project has also created an opportunity for student research. Joel Moses participated as a medical student through the Eastern Virginia Medical School – Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughter’s Summer Scholars Program, helping recruit participants and collect data. His work led to presentations at the school’s Research Symposium and a national otolaryngology conference.
The study is still in its early stages. Dr. Lam said the researchers are initially looking at how frequently patients with these nasal conditions experience voice complaints. Future research could examine whether treating diseases of the nose and sinuses also improves voice symptoms.
“If we have a better idea that the voice box is also affected, it might provide us with a more global approach in terms of managing these patients,” Dr. Lam said.
The collaboration is already opening possibilities beyond the current study.
“I’m looking forward to continuing additional studies and other collaborative research efforts,” Dr. Lam said. “It’s also given me a much better appreciation of what Dr. Reynolds and other speech pathologists do.”
Source: www.odu.edu
