Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation
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Sarcoidosis with cranial polyneuritis and mediastinal granulomatous compression as a cause of unilateral left vocal fold paralysis has been reported infrequently. No case of sarcoidosis causing bilateral vocal fold paralysis in the abducted position has been reported in the Otolaryngology/Voice literature. ⋯ This patient had a dramatic response to treatment with steroids. Sarcoidosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral vocal fold paralysis.
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At a physiological level, the act of singing involves control and coordination of several systems involved in the production of sound, including respiration, phonation, resonance, and afferent systems used to monitor production. The ability to produce a melodious singing voice (eg, in tune with accurate pitch) is dependent on control over these motor and sensory systems. To test this position, trained singers and untrained subjects with and without expressed singing talent were asked to match pitches of target pure tones. ⋯ Results revealed trained singers and untrained subjects with singing talent were no different in their pitch-matching abilities when measured before or after external feedback could be utilized. The untrained subjects with singing talent were also significantly more accurate than the trained singers when external auditory feedback was masked. Both groups were significantly more accurate than the untrained subjects without singing talent.