An electrolarynx, sometimes referred to as a "throat back", is a medical device about the size of a small electric razor used to produce clearer speech by those people who have lost their voicebox, usually due to cancer of the larynx. The most common device is a handheld, battery-operated device placed under the mandible which produces vibrations to allow speech. Earlier non-electric devices were called mechanical larynxes. Along with developing esophageal voice, robotic voice or undergoing a surgical procedure, the electrolarynx serves as a mode of speech recovery for laryngectomy patients.
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Overview
Initially, the pneumatic mechanical larynx was developed in the 1920s by Western Electric. It did not run on electricity, and was flawed in that it produced a weak voice. Electrolarynxes were introduced in the 1940s, at a time when esophageal voice was being promoted as the best course in speech recovery; however, since that technique is difficult to master, the electrolarynx became quite popular. Since then, many medical procedures, such as the tracheo-oesophageal puncture, were created to enable speech without continued dependence on a handheld device.
The use of an electrolarynx can cause some social issues including difficulty ordering a drink in a noisy pub, and, when answering a telephone, the caller responds "Is this a computer that I'm speaking to?" One user states:
People are really very kind once they realize what the situation is. I may go into a restaurant once, and if I go back there a year later, and it's the same woman at the front desk, she'll say, 'Where have you been? We haven't seen you for a while.' So, I feel like a movie star...
I'm really very blessed in my life. I am happier now, without my voice, than I've ever been with my voice. It's a small price to pay for being alive and enjoying life. So I am very happy where I am now.
Traditional electrolarynxes produce a monotone buzz that the user articulates into speech sounds, resulting in the characteristic "robotlike" voice quality. However, in the 1990s, research and commercial multi-tone devices began to be developed, including discrete-tone devices using multiple-position switches or multiple buttons; as well as variable-tone devices controlled by single pressure-sensitive buttons, trackballs, gyroscopes, or even electrical detection of the movement of neck muscles. In addition to allowing speakers of non-tonal languages such as English to have a more natural speaking voice, some of these devices have allowed speakers of tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese to speak more intelligibly.