Phoniatrics

According to the Union of the European Phoniatricians, Phoniatrics is a multidisciplinary specialty combining knowledge and competencies from medical and non-medical sciences with otorhinolaryngology as its basis. The medical spectrum covers elements of neurology, neuro-pediatrics, pediatrics, psychiatry of children and adolescents, radiology, genetics, endocrinology, dentistry, gerontology, psychosomatic medicine, musician medicine, rehabilitation medicine etc. In respect of non-medical sciences, basic knowledge is necessary in fields as linguistics, phonetics, neurocognitive sciences, (neuro-) psychology, pedagogy, acoustics, informatics, engineering, communication sciences, musicology, singers‘ training and ergonomics.

Some Explanation (incomplete):

Phoniatrics is the medical research and treatment of organs involved with speech production. In general terms the speech organs means the mouth, throat (larynx), the vocal cords and lungs. Problems treated in phoniatrics include dysfunction of the vocal cords, cancer in the vocal cords or larynx, incapability to control the speech organs properly (speech disorders), and vocal loading related problems.