Characterizing the Normative Voice Tremor Frequency in Essential Vocal Tremor

Abstract

Importance: Essential vocal tremor (EVT) is a neurologic voice disorder characterized by periodic fluctuations in pitch and loudness that can hinder intelligibility. Defining the normative range of vocal tremor frequency may assist in diagnosis and provide insight into disease mechanisms. Objective: To characterize the normative voice tremor frequency in EVT (in hertz). Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional observational study of 160 patients with EVT. The setting was a tertiary voice center. Participants were identified from a database of consecutive patients diagnosed as having laryngeal movement disorders between January 1, 1990, and April 1, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: The following 3 methods measured the frequency of tremor experienced by patients with EVT: perceptual method, computerized peak detection method, and laryngeal electromyography method. Within-person and population-level tremor frequencies were compared across modalities to assess measurement reliability and consistency and to characterize the normal distribution of tremor frequencies in this population. Results: Among 160 participants (median age, 70 years; interquartile range [IQR], 64-77 years; 90.6% female [n = 145]), the median frequency of EVT was consistently between 4 and 5 Hz across all 3 methods (perceptual, 4.8 Hz [IQR, 4.4-5.5 Hz]; computerized peak detection, 4.6 Hz [IQR, 4.2-5.0 Hz]; and laryngeal electromyography, 4.3 Hz [IQR, 3.8-5.0 Hz]). The mean in-person differences between each measurement method were not clinically meaningful (range, 0.1-0.5 Hz). Including all interquartile ranges across measurement modalities, the normative tremor frequency range for EVT was 3.8 to 5.5 Hz. Conclusions and Relevance: To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to characterize the normal frequency of tremor in patients with EVT. The normative frequency of EVT (range, 3.8-5.5 Hz) falls within a much narrower range than previously reported. Those whose frequency is outside this range may still have EVT but should be carefully evaluated for potential other causes of vocal tremor. Defining characteristics of EVT may aid appropriate diagnosis and improve understanding of this disease.