Adult Dysphagia Evaluation and Therapy

Adult Dysphagia Therapy

BHSC offers clinical swallowing evaluations and on-going therapy for dysphagia (medical term for swallowing difficulty) for adults through geriatrics. When individuals experience dysphagia, it can lead to disinterest in eating, fear with eating/drinking, social isolation, and medical complications as a result of weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, and/or infection.

Evaluations and therapy are provided through BHSC’s Williamsville and Buffalo clinics for patients that have a prescription from the Physician. Please call (716) 885-8318 for more information or to schedule.

Adult Dysphagia Learn About Swallowing position1

Adult Feeding and Swallowing What to Expect position1

What to Expect at an Evaluation and Therapy Session

During an evaluation, BHSC’s specially trained Speech Language Pathologists will observe the patient eating/drinking and assess their mastication, bolus propulsion, oral transit time, ability to clear oral cavity, timing of swallow trigger, laryngeal elevation, ability to clear pharynx and if any signs or symptoms of aspiration are observed. If signs of a swallowing disorder are seen, ongoing therapy sessions can be scheduled. Therapy exercises are tailored to individual needs but may include lingual exercises, labial exercises, base of tongue retraction exercises, thermal stimulation, laryngeal elevation exercises, pharyngeal strengthening exercises and/or compensatory techniques.

There are many causes of dysphagia. Dysphagia can develop as a result of damage to the central nervous system and/or cranial nerves, secondary to unilateral or bilateral cortical and subcortical lesions, problems affecting the head and neck, side effects of some medications, metabolic disturbances, infectious disease, pulmonary disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, following cardiothoracic surgery, and deconditioning/frailty. Our specialty trained Speech-Language Pathologists that work in the adult swallowing program at BHSC have extensive training and expertise in diagnosing and effectively treating dysphagia.

Coughing or throat clearing while eating/drinking
Difficulty chewing
Food and/or liquid leaking from oral cavity or nose
Choking
Sensation of food/liquid getting stuck
Eyes watering while eating/drinking
Nose running while eating/drinking
Weight loss/malnutrition/dehydration
Pain when swallowing
Regurgitation of food
Persistent drooling of saliva
Wet-gurgly vocal quality while eating/drinking
Recurrent respiratory infections

Swallowing happens in three stages, or phases. You can have a problem in one or more of these phases. They include:

Oral phase (mouth) – sucking, chewing, and moving food or liquid into the throat.
Pharyngeal phase (throat) – starting the swallow and squeezing food down the throat. You need to close off your airway to keep food or liquid out. Food going into the airway can cause coughing and choking.
Esophageal phase – opening and closing the esophagus (the tube that goes from the back of your throat to your stomach). The esophagus squeezes food down to the stomach. Food can get stuck in the esophagus. You may also throw up a lot if there is a problem with your esophagus or if you have acid reflux (commonly known as indigestion or heartburn).

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At Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, we are dedicated to helping you overcome any hearing, speech, communication, or educational need you have. Call us to speak with a Specialist or Write Us A Message.

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