The aging voice: a systematic review of presbyphonia

Purpose: To perform a comprehensive review of the literature regarding presbyphonia. Methods: We searched PUBMED through a combination of MeSH terms for articles published in the English language concerning presbyphonia. Results: Presbyphonia identifies vocal changes due to anatomical and physiological changes of the larynx occurring during the aging process. It affects about 10–20% of elderly and could negatively impact on their quality of life. The diagnosis of presbyphonia is typically a diagnosis of exclusion made in absence of other laryngeal disease with a characteristic clinic of aging voice and an instrumental pattern of presbylarynx. The treatme nt of choice for presbyphonia is speech therapy that significantly improves voice performances. In case of failure, surgical therapy should be proposed in selected patients although evidence of its benefit is scanty. Conclusions: The reviewed evidence regarding aging voice has shown that presbyphonia is considered a clinical entity that could impact the quality of life in elderly. Speech therapy is effective for improving voice performances.