People tend to develop voice disorders at some point in their lives because of various reasons. However, extended trouble with your voice can be the outcome of an inherent medical disorder. Consulting a good surprise ear, nose & throat doctor can help in treating your voice issues.
Voice disorders are of different types and have different causes. Want to know what they are? Find them below:
Laryngitis
The vocal cord swelling causes laryngitis generally because of an infection. Your upper respiratory tract’s viral infection is the most common. The swelling of vocal cords vibrates differently, which causes hoarseness. You should take care of your voice during laryngitis, as vocal cord swelling increases the risks of critical injury. It can accumulate blood in your vocal cords or form vocal cord nodules, cysts, or pops.
Vocal Cord Lesions
Voice overuse and vocal cord injuries may cause non-cancerous or benign damage to your vocal cords. Such bumps on vocal cords change the vibration of the vocal cords. The unusual vibration causes chronic changes in your voice quality. Your voice gets rough and raspy, which makes it tough for you to speak clearly. Vocal cord lesions are almost the same as vocal cord calluses. They tend to develop on vocal cords, which are opposite to each other. Vocal cord polyps are vocal cord lesions caused due to overuse, misuse, or trauma to your vocal cord.
Vocal Cord Paralysis
Issues between your muscles and nerves in your larynx or voice box may cause muscle and nerve disorders in hoarseness, including weakness/paralysis of your vocal cords. A paralyzed vocal cord tends to cause a weak or soft voice because of poor closure of the vocal cord. You can recover in months. However, your paralysis may become permanent, which would need surgical treatment.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease
Acid reflux in the throat from stomach acid may cause numerous throat and esophagus issues. Gastric acid irritation in your throat may cause throat pain, hoarseness, and swallowing issues. You will wake up with hoarseness, throat irritation, and discomfort. An otolaryngologist examines to understand if stomach acid causes throat and voice irritation.
Throat Cancer
Once cancer attacks your vocal cords, your voice changes. You can see such a symptom at the primary cancer stage. Chronic hoarseness or voice changes for over 2 to 4 weeks in a smoker require a test to check if it’s larynx cancer.
The Bottomline
Now, you know the causes of different types of voice disorders. If you have been suffering from a voice disorder for a long, get in touch with a good ENT specialist near your location right away.