Opinions of Total Laryngectomized Individuals on the Sound Quality of Electrolarynx
摘要
Total laryngectomy is a surgical procedure performed to treat individuals with advanced laryngeal cancer, resulting in the irreversible loss of the natural voice. Among the voice rehabilitation methods, the electrolarynx has been widely used, albeit with different acoustic characteristics. The present study investigated the opinions of laryngectomized individuals regarding the sound quality of electrolarynxes, based on their prior experiences with the device. Seventeen laryngectomized individuals participated in the study—13 men and 4 women—divided into two groups: 8 electrolarynx users and 9 non-rehabilitated individuals. Participants underwent individual interviews consisting of 4 questions. The first question asked whether they liked the sound quality of the electrolarynx. The second, third, and fourth questions explored whether family members, friends, and strangers found the sound quality uncomfortable, respectively. Participants spontaneously provided reasons for their answers. As a result, 75% of users and 77.8% of non-rehabilitated individuals stated they did not like the sound quality. Among users, 50% reported discomfort from strangers, 25% from friends, and 0% from family members. None of the non-rehabilitated individuals reported discomfort from people. Reasons cited included: 29.4% considered it preferable to having no voice at all; 23.5% found the voice sounded robotic; 17.6% were bothered by background noise; 11.8% found it unintelligible; 5.9% wished it were higher-pitched; 5.9% believed it causes social discrimination; and 5.9% stated it aroused people’s curiosity. Therefore, the majority were dissatisfied with the electrolarynx sound quality, acknowledging its importance but expressing various complaints. Samples of electrolaryngeal speech are available in additional files.