What is vocal tremor?

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Vocal tremor is a voice disorder that really has to do with how the brain controls and coordinates muscles in the body. Simply put, when one has a vocal tremor, the voice “shakes.” Sometimes people respond to the shaking by squeezing the voicebox to hold things steady and a tight voice is the result.

Patients often describe their voices as “tight” or “strained” or sometimes even “choked.” One of the characteristics is that patients report increased effort to say words and often there are specific words that consistently cause a problem for the patient.

Videostroboscopy, laryngeal EMG, and a complete voice evaluation can help make the diagnosis, but often if we listen carefully, we can hear the rhythmic quality in the voice as tremor tend to repeat in a cycle that is predictable. Some patients respond to medications. For some, botox injections are helpful. Voice therapy can also help patient stop squeezing and learn to use the tremor in their voice differently.