Egophony is a speech transmission test where a shift in vocal sound from E to A indicates fluid or scar tissue in or around the lungs. It is a noninvasive diagnostic tool used to detect pneumonia, pleural effusion, or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Egophony is a condition characterized by a shift in the vocal sound that is heard through a patient’s lungs. A positive egophony test indicates that fluid has accumulated in or around the lungs or that scar tissue has formed within the lungs. This test is one of several speech transmission tests that require the patient to speak softly while the doctor listens to the lungs with a stethoscope. In patients with egophony, the sound of the letter E will take on the qualities of the letter A when heard through the lungs.
The term egophony, which can also be spelled aegophony, comes from two Greek terms meaning “goat” and “sound.” This name was given to the disorder because the shift in sound from E to A makes a patient’s voice sound faintly goatish when heard through a stethoscope. This condition is only apparent when directly listening to a patient’s lungs as vowels will not sound distorted when a patient is heard through the air.
A noninvasive diagnostic tool, an egophony test is conducted in a doctor’s office or hospital. The patient will be asked to speak, often repeating a word with a loud E sound, while the doctor listens to the lungs at different points. It is possible that some parts of the lungs indicate egophony while other parts sound normal.
Vowel sound shift when heard through the lungs is usually caused by the presence of additional fluid in or around the lungs. This fluid transmits high-frequency sounds more easily than low-frequency sounds. In patients with healthy lungs, listening to the lungs as a patient talks will sound like hearing a patient talk through the air.
An egophony test can be used by clinicians as a preliminary diagnostic tool and may indicate pneumonia, pleural effusion, or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In pneumonia, fluid builds up in a patient’s lungs, making certain areas of the lungs unsuitable for oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange with red blood cells. Patients with pleural effusion may have a buildup of fluid around the lungs, a condition that makes it more difficult for the lungs to expand to their full capacity. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a buildup of scar tissue or swelling of lung tissue that can also make the lungs less efficient. If egophony is found in a patient, further tests should be done to determine if one of these conditions is the cause.
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