Getting a referral to a voice clinic via your GP

If you find yourself suffering from on-going voice problems, such as regular hoarseness, you should see your GP and depending on what they say, get referred to an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant, ideally a laryngologist (an ENT consultant specialising in the voice).  The recommendation is generally if you have experienced unexplained hoarseness/voice loss/voice problems for 2-3 weeks, you should see a voice specialist.

GPs are not always that aware of voice problems and so you may want to do some of your own research.  See www.voiceproblem.org which contains useful explanations of the symptoms of different voice disorders. Also check out their symptom tree: www.voiceproblem.org/symptomtree/

In the UK, you can request to go to one of these specialised voice clinics.

If a voice problem is diagnosed, there may be a number of treatment options including medication and speech therapy.  In some cases surgery may be recommended.

If you are referred to a speech therapist, you should if possible try to see one trained in voice. Voice is a separate specialism within speech therapy and techniques are quite specialised. 

If you cannot get access to a voice trained speech therapist on the NHS, you can discuss options by emailing: info@lary.org.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A Summary of the Referral Procedure as I understand it:

1. Find out where the voice clinic nearest to you is (or the one you want to be seen at).  See list here:   http://www.british-voice-association.com/voice_clinics.htm

 NOTE:  You are entitled to be seen at any voice clinic if you are willing to travel to it.  Sometimes travelling further can be useful for a second opinion or because you know a particular consultant is particularly well regarded or because a voice clinic has better equipment/more voice specialised professionals in it, etc...  The disadvantage of being seen outside your area, as I understand it, is that if certain treatments are recommended (eg. seeing a speech therapist), you may need to be seen back in your own local health authority area subsequent to any diagnosis at another voice clinic).  However, if surgery is indicated then this is not restricted to your area (you can have it in whatever voice clinic you are seen in wherever that might be).

2. See your GP and ask to be referred.  If you are happy attending a general Ear Nose and Throat clinic, that is one option.   This may be appropriate for a number of reasons (waiting times, etc...).  However, you may want to be seen by a specialist voice clinic if, for example, you suspect it is your voice that is the problem and you want more specialised investigation.

3. If you want to be seen in the voice clinic, finding out the name(s) of the voice specialised consultant(s) that hold it may be helpful.  To do this I would suggest contacting the ENT department or speech and language therapy department and ask who the voice specialised consultants (laryngologists) are. GPs will often not know. 

4. You may also want to ask what the procedure is for referral to this clinic - what should your GP do.

5. Once you know the consultant(s) who run the voice clinic(s), explain to your GP that you want to be seen in the voice clinic.  If you know the days the voice clinic runs and the consultants who run it (because you have contacted the voice clinic) that could help but a GP should be able to find this out.  In my experience, stressing the fact that you want to be seen in the voice clinic by a laryngologist and not other ENT professionals may be helpful.

If people want to add comments/let us know their experiences, please feel free.

Terry