Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

Voice Center


The USF Health Voice Center treats patients with disorders of the upper airway, voice and swallowing. “Voice disorders can really impact patients' lives as our voices are so important for communicating, socializing and working, especially in the new "zoom era,”’ said the center’s director, Yael Bensoussan, MD, MSc, who is also an assistant professor of Otolaryngology in the Morsani College of Medicine.

Grateful Patient

Reflecting on the pivotal role Dr. Bensoussan played in his recovery, stating, “She did what nobody else would do, and did what everyone said couldn’t be done.” Learn more about how the USF Health Voice Center gives patients a better life.

Using Your Voice To Detect Early Signs of Diseases, Disorders

Using Your Voice To Detect Early Signs of Diseases, Disorders

Your voice gives a lot of information, and voice doctors with the University of South Florida are working on a way to use changes in the voice to detect early signs of diseases and disorders.

Using Your Voice To Detect Early Signs of Diseases, Disorders
Treatment of a rare disorder that causes the airway to narrow.

Treatment of a Rare Disorder That Causes the Airway to Narrow

“I feel like I got my lifestyle back. It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when many things you enjoy doing kind of get taken from you,” said Jason Denton.

Treatment of a Rare Disorder That Causes the Airway to Narrow

The Institute for Voice and Hearing Innovation

The Institute for Voice and Hearing Innovation is the first center of its kind for innovative voice, speech, hearing and balance care. This new center will integrate clinical care, research and technology across professions and disciplines to discover new therapies, treatments and approaches to change lives. Learn more and help us bring our vision to life.

The Multidisciplinary Approach

The USF Health Voice Center is the only multidisciplinary academic voice center in the Tampa Bay Area. Our mission is to provide state of the art, personalized, compassionate, and evidence-based care to patients with voice, upper airway, and swallowing disorders.

Our center is committed to treating patients with a multidisciplinary team approach focused on patient-centered care while integrating innovation and standardized algorithms of care to optimize the patient experience and produce positive outcomes.

Custom Care

Our center is proud to provide multidisciplinary care to all our patients with voice, swallowing and upper airway disorders. All patients are assessed jointly by a laryngologist and a speech pathologist to provide optimal diagnosis and management.

We recognize that every patient is unique, with specific needs. Our team of providers customizes a care plan to suit the specific needs of every patient.

Our team is part of multidisciplinary collaborations through our partners at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital.

Services

  • Providers of the USF Voice Center treat all conditions related to voice, upper airway and swallowing disorders including:

    • Airway Disorders
    • Benign Voice Lesions (Nodules, Polyps Cysts)
    • Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis 
    • Care of the professional voice
    • Cervical Dystonia
    • Cricopharyngeal Hypertrophy 
    • Cricopharyngeal Spasm
    • Chronic Cough 
    • Chronic Throat Clearing
    • Dysphagia/Swallowing Problem 
    • Dysphonia/Voice Problem
    • Essential Voice Tremor
    • Glottic Stenosis
    • Irritable Larynx Syndrome
    • Laryngeal Cancer 
    • Laryngeal Dystonia
    • Leukoplakia 
    • Muscle Tension Dysphonia
    • Oropharyngeal Dysphagia
    • Pre-cancerous Lesions and Early Laryngeal Cancer
    • Presbyphonia or Aging Voice
    • Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
    • Reinke's Edema 
    • Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (RCPD) / No Burp Syndrome 
    • Spasmodic Dysphonia or Laryngeal Dysfunction
    • Subglottic Stenosis
    • Sulcus Vocalis
    • Tracheostomy Dependence
    • Unilateral vocal fold paralysis
    • Upper esophageal sphincter dysfunction or spasm
    • Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)/Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PVFM)
    • Vocal Fold Atrophy 
    • Vocal Fold Granuloma 
    • Vocal Hemorrhage 
    • Vocal Fatigue 
    • Vocal Fold Scar 
    • Zenker’s Diverticulum

  • The evaluation of a voice disorder may include a combination of tests. We also work closely with our ENT, allergy, and pulmonary faculty.

    • A videostroboscopy
    • Laryngeal function testing
    • Cough spirometry testing
    • Expiratory/inspiratory muscle strength testing.

  • We offering the following: 

    • In-office laryngeal procedures
    • Modified Barium Swallow Study
    • Pharyngeal Manometry
    • Swallowing therapy
    • Tracheal and Crico-tracheal resection
    • Thyroplasty
    • Voice evaluation with acoustic and aerodynamic measure
    • Voice therapy for voice disorders
    • Biofeedback treatment with surface electromyography (sEMG)
    • Lingual strengthening with biofeedback using a portable device
    • LSVT LOUD to treat Parkinson’s Disease
    • Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)
    • Respiratory training for improved cough and swallow function –Expiratory muscle strength training (EMST)
    • Specialized voice therapy for professional voice users (singers, actors, voice actors)
    • Swallow strengthening exercise
    • Swallowing Therapy including education regarding your swallowing diagnosis
    • Upper Airway Therapy for ILO/PVFM and chronic cough/throat clearing
    • Voice Therapy including education regarding your vocal diagnosis

Meet Our Experts

Location

USF Health South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare

USF Health South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare

ENT Clinic, 2nd Floor
2 Tampa General Cir.
Tampa, FL 33606