THROAT CONDITIONS

Throat Hoarseness & Voice Loss

What is Hoarseness and Voice Loss?

When your voice starts sounding different, it could be due to a few factors, such as vocal strain, infections, smoking, exposure to harmful substances, or even digestive issues like reflux. While the causes can range from a simple cold to severe conditions like vocal cord damage, there's no need to suffer in silence.

Symptoms of Hoarseness and Voice Loss

Numerous symptoms can greatly impact your communication abilities:

• Change in voice - scratchy, breathy, strained, or altered pitch

• Changes in volume causing you to either speak too loudly or not loud enough

• In severe cases, your voice may dwindle to a whisper or be lost entirely

• A tight sensation in your throat, frequent need to cough or clear your throat, and occasional pain during speaking or swallowing.

It's crucial to note that these symptoms could indicate a range of different medical conditions, some more severe than others.

Conditions Causing Hoarseness

Conditions that frequently present with hoarseness:

• Laryngitis: An infection causing inflammation and swelling in your voice box or larynx. This could lead to a breathy voice due to impaired vocal cord function and is generally accompanied by a sore throat and cough.

• Vocal Cord Nodules: Overusing your vocal cords can lead to the formation of small nodules, hindering the complete closure of your vocal cords resulting in a breathy voice.

• Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease: Stomach acid refluxing into the throat can irritate and cause swelling in the larynx, resulting in voice changes. You may also experience heartburn and the sensation of something stuck in your throat.

• Laryngeal Tumours: Tumours in the larynx can also affect your voice, particularly if they invade deeper structures like the muscles controlling vocal cord movements.

• Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Palsy: This is damage to the nerve-controlling voice box muscles, often resulting from surgery or cancers, especially those involving the thyroid gland.

Treatment of Hoarseness and Voice Loss

Treatment of hoarseness depends on accurately diagnosing the underlying condition. This could include laryngeal microsurgery to remove nodules and polyps, or a tumour biopsy to confirm a diagnosis before further treatment.