Esophageal speech
This technique uses the body’s natural tissues as the new voice source and requires you to swallow small amounts of air into your esophagus before forcing them back up. The column of swallowed air causes the food pipe to vibrate, generating the sound that is further modified by the tongue and lips to create words.
Among the three different options for voice rehabilitation, esophageal speech is the oldest method and often the most difficult to learn.
What is esophageal speech?
This technique uses the body’s natural tissues as the new voice source and requires you to swallow small amounts of air into your oesophagus before expelling it into the pharyngo-oesophagal segment (throat), which will vibrate to produce sound.
How does esophageal speech work?
Air is trapped in the mouth and then swallowed using your tongue. The column of swallowed air is then pushed back into the upper esophagus causes the food pipe to vibrate, generating the sound.
The sound is further modified by the tongue and lips to create words.
Using esophageal speech
This video will give you an idea of what it sounds like when you speak using the esophageal method.