Many people don’t give voice disorders two seconds thought until they are dealing with them. There is a long list of disorders that affect your voice. When you’re having problems with your voice, it can be debilitating. The physicians at ENT Specialists are here to talk about some of the most common disorders that affect your voice.
Acute laryngitis is the most common cause of voice loss. This disorder is usually caused by a virus that causes the vocal chords to start swelling. This often results in voice loss or severe hoarseness. Because this disorder is causes by a virus, you can’t treat it with antibiotics, but rather, hydration and rest.
There isn’t much difference in chronic laryngitis and acute laryngitis other than frequency. If someone is chronically hoarse, it could be chronic laryngitis most likely caused by acid reflux, exposure to smoke inhalation, or low grade infections such as yeast from using an inhaler for asthma.
Like other areas of your body such as your back, it you misuse it or overuse it you can harm it. Speaking excessively loud, using your voice inefficiently or for a prolonged amount of time can cause vocal issues. When there is frequent strain on the neck muscles and laryngeal muscles, along with poor breathing technique, the patient will experience hoarseness.
Even patients that aren’t aware they suffer from reflux because they don’t feel any symptoms can experience LPRD. Stomach acids that are constantly making their way up into the esophagus can cause hoarseness, a feeling of a lump in their throat, swallowing problems or throat pain. LPRD can occur in those that aren’t experiencing any traditional symptoms of GERD.
Sometimes patients can experience sudden voice loss after yelling or other strenuous vocal activity. This can be caused by the blood vessels found in the vocal chords rupture and the soft tissues of the vocal chords fill with blood. Absolute vocal rest is the only way to treat this and the patient’s Otolaryngologist should be contacted immediately for an appointment as this is a vocal emergency.
The most common type of benign vocal chord lesions are polyps, cysts and nodules. They are caused by voice misuse or trauma to the vocal chords. These lesions are often treated with microsurgical treatment along with vocal therapy to get the voice back to where it was previously.
If you struggle with chronic hoarseness, there may be an underlying reason why. The sooner you can get answers to your voice disorder, the sooner you can start working with the talented vocologists physicians at ENT Specialists to treat the problem and recover fully. There are situations where more serious problems like laryngeal cancer may be present. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it is important to see your physician as soon as possible in case of serious illness. Call us today to schedule your appointment.
