UW News

May 14, 1999

Chip Hanauer’s restored voice gives him a new lease on life

Chip Hanauer was at the pinnacle of the unlimited hydroplane racing world when he walked away three years ago, having won the sport?s top race, the APBA Gold Cup, 10 times, and 58 races overall.

But he was bruised and battered from a serious blowover accident and plagued by a vocal-cord disorder that reduced his voice to a garbled, strained whisper.

“It was, without question, the darkest period of my life,” said Hanauer. “Unless you have been through it, you have no idea what an impact losing your voice can have on your life.”

Hanauer first began experiencing symptoms of impaired speech seven years ago. He couldn?t make himself heard in normal conversation or on the phone, let alone talking to his crew while driving 150 miles per hour in a turbine-driven hydroplane. He saw a variety of specialists who attributed it to stress, among other things.

It wasn?t until four years later that he received a conclusive diagnosis of spasmodic dysphonia (SD), a neurological condition affecting the vocal muscles of the larynx. In the most common “adductor” type, the vocal cords can clamp down so tightly they block the air flow, and no sound is produced. This causes a strained, strangled, choked-voice quality.

Hanauer went to a specialist in New York who treated him using Botox, botulinum toxin injections into the vocal cord muscles. This has proven to be the most effective treatment for spasmodic dysphonia.

The New York specialist sent Hanauer back home to UW Medical Center otolaryngologist Dr. Allen Hillel, who had been treating SD patients with Botox since 1991.

“To think of all the time and grief I would have saved if I had only come to UW Medical Center in the first place,” said Hanauer, who receives the Botox injections about four times a year.

The UW Medical Center’s Otolaryngology Clinic sees nearly 200 patients with spasmodic dysphonia a year, said Hillel, some coming from as far away as California and Hawaii to receive a Botox shot.

“It works because the toxin effectively blocks the communication between the nerve and the muscle,” said Hillel, associate professor of otolaryngology. This relaxes the vocal cords and permits normal speech patterns.”

In almost all cases of the common adductor type, the treatment succeeds in improving the speech and shortness of breath. The effect of the treatment lasts for three to five months and is improved by speech therapy.

Pat Waugh, speech/language pathologist at UW Medical Center, has worked with Hanauer and many other patients with spasmodic dysphonia.

“We work together both before and after the Botox treatment,” she said. “I need to know how they responded to the previous Botox injection in order for us to determine if the next injection needs to be modified. For some patients, speech therapy can help eliminate bad compensatory speech habits and prolong the time between injections.”

Hanauer describes the clinic as a “gentle nurturing place” for patients with SD. “Everyone with SD feels really good about coming here,” he said. “There aren?t a lot of clinics that take care of patients the way they do here.”

Hanauer recently took part in a fundraiser for the Otolaryngology Clinic at the Grand Prix Raceway in Fife, an indoor go-karting center. The afternoon of racing was the brainchild of Grand Prix Raceway marketing director Aki Wright, another patient of Hillel?s with spasmodic dysphonia.

With the promotional help of disc jockey John Maynard from KZOK-FM, the event raised nearly $2,000 that will go toward publishing Hillel?s extensive research on spasmodic dysphonia.

Hanauer returns to the hydroplane circuit this month, driving the Pico American Dream, and is serving as an unofficial spokesman for people with SD wherever he goes.

“I?m just so grateful to Dr. Hillel and everyone at the UW Medical Center clinic for giving me a big part of my life back,” he said.

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