Voice & Swallowing

Your voice matters! It’s a form of communication, a way to connect with the world around you, and even a little piece of your own identity. The Voice Center at the ENT Institute is committed to helping you care for your voice with experts in the field and the best quality care available.

The Voice Center at the ENT Institute

We have two expert speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work in the Voice Center at the ENT Institute.

Oya Topbas, M.S., CCC-SLP

Oya Topbas has been a speech-language pathologist for about 12 years. She has worked at the ENT Institute since 2020. Her passions include working with people who have voice and swallowing disorders as well as transgender or gender non-conforming individuals seeking gender-affirming voice and communication training.

Location(s): Brookhaven, Alpharetta, Stockbridge, Newnan

Nicole Hines, M.S., CCC-SLP

Nicole Hines is a speech-language pathologist specializing in swallowing and voice disorders. She has been a practicing SLP since 2005 and has worked at the ENT Institute since 2022. Nicole is passionate about professional and patient advocacy as well as sharing FEES education. She is also the current President of the Georgia Speech-Language Hearing Association (GSHA).

Location(s): Gainesville

Voice and Swallowing Screening

Our Services

We are here to help you find your voice, whether due to issues with the quality of your voice, a disease process, or to help you train in creating the voice you desire.

LSVT-LOUD

The nasal septum is the wall that divides the nose into the left and right nostrils. A deviated septum is when the nasal septum is displaced, often leaning to one side and making one of the nasal passages smaller. A deviated septum often leads to issues with breathing or other forms of nasal obstruction. A septoplasty is often the recommended treatment. It is a surgical procedure to straighten the bone and cartilage dividing the space between your nostrils (septum). This procedure includes a longer recovery time than the balloon sinuplasty, but it has a high success rate to help individuals with deviated septums breathe better faster.

Voice Therapy

Voice Therapy is where we use exercises and strategies to rehabilitate voice and laryngeal disorders.

Gender-Affirming Voice And Communication Training

We offer voice and communication training for individuals who are going through a gender transition or feel their voice is not representative of their gender expression.

Swallowing/Dysphagia Therapy

During swallowing/dysphagia therapy, we use various exercises and strategies to rehabilitate swallowing impairment.

Testing & Assessments

Laryngeal Videostroboscopy

Visual imaging of vocal cord function via flexible endoscope. It also has special lighting to video record images of vocal cords, pharynx, and larynx (throat) during voice tasks.

Acoustic Voice Assessments

This assessment allows our SLPs to take voice measurements during vocal tasks.

Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow (FEES) Study

Visual imaging of pharynx and larynx (throat) during swallowing foods and liquids.

Clinical Swallowing Assessment

A basic assessment of swallowing without visual imaging.

Please contact the Voice Center if you or a loved one is having the following concerns:

Hoarseness, raspiness, gravelly voice for longer than 2 weeks
Hoarseness or voice issues caused by vocal nodules (nodes), polyps, other vocal
lesions
Vocal fatigue/soreness in throat after talking
COVID-19 related hoarseness, chronic cough, airway, or breathing issues
Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological disorders
Chronic cough, airway, or breathing issues that is affecting voice and communication
Aging voice
Your voice does not match your gender expression
Singing voice
Head and neck cancers resulting in voice and/or swallowing disorders
Swallowing disorders caused by neurological or other conditions
Speech impairments caused by strokes, brain injury, Bell’s Palsy, or
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
Impaired oral/facial function for speaking and non-verbal communication or eating and swallowing