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Treating Voice, Airway, and Swallowing Disorders

The Voice Disorders Center and surgical specialists at University of Utah Health help you manage conditions that affect your voice, upper airway, and swallowing. These areas are all part of your aerodigestive tract. You may have a condition that affects more than one part of your aerodigestive tract at once. 

Our specialists work with in the latest behavioral, pharmaceutical, and surgical treatments for the following:

Conditions We Treat

Voice Disorders

  • Hoarseness related to the following conditions:
    • Muscle tension/dysphonia
    • Chronic throat pain (lasting four weeks or longer)
    • Vocal injury
    • Vocal nodules, polyps, cysts, and other benign lesions
    • Presbyphonia/aging voice
  • Resonance disorders
    • Velopharyngeal insufficiency
  • Laryngitis
  • Neurogenic voice disorders

Airway Disorders

  • Airway stenosis/scarring
  • Induced laryngeal obstruction (formerly vocal cord dysfuction/paradoxical vocal fold motion)
  • Chronic cough (lasting six weeks or longer)
  • Laryngeal papillomatosis
  • Shortness of breath

Swallowing Disorders

  • Dysphagia
  • Globus sensation (throat lump)

Conditions Affecting Multiple Areas

Services

Our services include assessments and treatments by our team of highly-trained specialists. Your first visit might be with a single specialist or with a team of specialists. Our team can diagnose and treat one or more of your voice, airway, and swallowing problems during a group visit. Team visits help you get the right kind of care faster. Individual specialists treat you as needed.

Speech-Language Pathology

  • Clinical assessment:
    • Voice
    • Upper airway (ILO, chronic cough)
    • Swallowing
  • In-office procedures to assess aerodigestive function:
    • Laryngoscopy
      • Nasoendoscopy
      • Rigid transoral endoscopy
    • Laryngoscopy with stroboscopy
    • Laryngeal function studies
    • Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallow (FEES)
    • Modified Barium Swallow Studies (MBSS)
  • Behavioral therapy to treat the following:
  • Gender affirming voice care

Vocal Coach

  • Assessment of performance voice use (singing, public speaking, etc.)
  • Vocal coaching/voice lessons

Surgical Procedures/Laryngology

  • Voice assessment
  • Airway assessment
  • Medical/surgical procedures:
    • Laryngoscopy
    • Botulinum toxin therapy for laryngeal dystonia and vocal tremor
    • Laryngeal electromyography (EMG)
    • Vocal fold augmentation injection
    • Vocal fold medicalization procedures
    • Biopsies
    • Vocal fold microsurgeries 
    • Reinnervation procedures
    • Vocal fold reconstruction
    • Laser surgery of the larynx

Pulmonology

Find a Voice, Airway, or Swallowing Specialist

How to Make an Appointment

Location

The Voice Disorders Center is located at  
729 Arapeen Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108

Get Directions to the Voice Disorders Center

You will need a referral from another provider to make an appointment with a voice disorders specialist. 

University of Utah Health providers can send referrals through MyChart. Providers who aren't part of U of U Health can fax referrals to 801-586-3569. Please call 801-587-3550 with questions. 

Our schedulers ask you questions when you make your appointment. These questions help our team know which specialists should join your first visit. You get the best care when you meet with a group of specialists, depending on your symptoms. 

Why Choose University of Utah Health

Our team provides exceptional and comprehensive voice, swallow, and airway health care to children and adults through innovative research, education and personalized attention to all we serve. We strive to create an enduring, trusting relationship with compassion, respect, and commitment to exceptional patient care through expert interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment. 

Our team consists of experts from the disciplines of: 

We offer state-of-the art and evidence-based assessment and treatment options, including medical, pharmaceutical, surgical, and behavioral therapy approaches.

Mutual Respect

We value mutual respect. Our team is committed toward supporting and cultivating experts/leaders in voice, airway, and swallowing disorders. We value honesty, open communication, team-based activities, mutual respect, support, positive solution-based problem-solving, and patient-centered care. Our clinic is in an academic medical center that takes pride in advancing our clinical practice through research, education, teaching, and service.

University of Utah Health is the official voice care provider of Utah Symphony / Utah Opera.

Hear From Our Specialists