Psychogenic aphonia is a disabling conversion disorder with no standard psychotherapeutic1 or speech-therapeutic treatment.2 We present here a case report describing a promising new treatment for this disorder based on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

A left-handed 18-year-old woman developed a sudden total loss of normal speech production which was preceded by hoarseness. Coughing and syllabic “trillo” phonation were normal, indicating normal articulatory ability. An otolaryngological examination noted a normal larynx with no sign of lesion or vocal cord palsy, and videostroboscopic examination showed no vocal-cord adduction except during coughing. Neurological examination and …