Why Are You Losing Your Voice?
- Maybe you first notice something is wrong when your normally clear-as-a-bell voice gets
a little bit husky. - Pretty soon all that your friends can hear is a lot of croaking when you try to speak up.
- Too much singing in the shower, you wonder, or is something more serious to blame?
- Check out these culprits that could explain why you're hoarse.
A Cold
- When you speak, air passes through the voice box in your throat & hits the two bands
called vocal cords. - Your voice make sounds when they vibrate.
- A cold can throw a wrench into this smooth-running machine.
- Your throat gets inflamed & sore.
- Then your vocal cords swell, which affects the way they vibrate.
- The end result: You're hoarse. Rest your voice and drink plenty of fluids.
- Your volume will return when you recover.
You Use Your Voice Too Much
- Each time you talk or sing, you use different muscles, including some in your mouth & throat.
- Just like other muscles in your body, overuse of the ones that help you speak can lead to fatigue, strain & injury.
- The wrong technique can also bring on hoarseness.
Here are some common things that you may be doing wrong:
- Speak, sing, yell, o cough too much.
- Use a pitch that's higher or lower than normal when you talk.
- Cradle your phone between your head & shoulder.
Smoking
- Cigarette smoke irritates your vocal cords, which can lead to long-term voice problems.
- Studies show that former & current smokers are about three times more likely to have a
voice disorder than people who never smoke. - Smoking can also raise your risk of developing a small, non-cancerous growth called a
polyp on your vocal cords. - It can cause your voice to become low, breathy & hoarse.
Allergies
When you think about allergies, you probably think of a runny nose, itchy eyes
& sneezing. But they can also take a toll on your voice in several ways:
- An allergic reaction can cause your vocal cords to swell.
- Postnasal Drip- when mucus moves from your nose into your throat, can irritate your vocal cords.
- Coughing & a clearing your throat can strain your vocal cords.
- Antihistamine drugs for allergies can dry out mucus in your throat.
- This may harm your vocal cords, which need moisture to work.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
- It's an autoimmune disease that causes pain, swelling & stiffness in your joints.
- About 1 in 3 people with RA get vocal problems, including a sore throat & loss of voice.
- That's because the condition can affect tiny joints in your face & throat, which leads to
problems with your breathing & the way your vocal cords work.
Trouble With Your Thyroid
- This butterfly-shaped gland in your lower neck pumps out a hormone that controls a
number of functions in your body. - When your thyroid doesn't make enough of it, one symptom you might have is a hoarse
voice. - If you have a goiter, when your thyroid gets larger,you may cough a lot and have problems
with your speech. - A growth on the thyroid or a nodule, can also affect the way you speak.
Gerd
- It's a condition that makes stomach acid wash back up into the esophagus, a tube that
leads into your throat. - The main symptom is heartburn but Gerd can also weaken your voice.
- Stomach acid can irritate your vocal cords, throat & esophagus.
- This leads to a hoarse voice,wheezing & too much mucus in your throat.
Laryngitis
- It's a not a disease, but a catch-all word that means you've lost your voice.
- If it happens suddenly, it's called 'acute' laryngitis.
- You can get it from a cold or overusing your voice.
- You can get long-term laryngitis if you breathe in something irritating, like smoke or
chemical fumes. - It also develops if you get yeast infections of the vocal cords, which can happen if you use asthma inhalersor have problems with your immune system, the body's defense against
germs.
Nodules, Polyps & Cysts
- Although experts aren't sure why, non-cancerous growths can appear
on your vocal cords. - They believe that heavy overuse of the voice, such as too much yelling
or speaking, can be a cause.
There are three types:
- Nodules. These callus like formations usually grow in the middle of the vocal cord.
- They tend to go away if you give your voice enough rest.
- Polyps. These typically appear on one side of the vocal cord.
- They have a variety of sizes and shapes.
- Cysts. They're firm masses of tissue that grow near or beneath the surface of your vocal
cord. - If they make serious changes to your voice, your doctor will likely recommend surgery to
remove them.
Nervous System Diseases
- A condition that affects your nerves, like Parkinson's disease, can affect the muscles in
your face & throat. - Nearly 90% of people with Parkinson's get some form of a speech or voice disorder.
- Parkinson's causes the parts of the brain that control movement & coordination to decline.
- This may mean that you're no longer able to control the muscles needed for speech.
Laryngeal Cancer
Long-term hoarseness or voice loss may be a sign of throat cancer.
Other symptoms for the disease are:- Pain when swallowing
- Pain in the ear
- Trouble breathing
- Lump in the neck
If your voice problems last for more than 2 weeks, see a doctor.
Copyright © 2012-2019 KosherWoman.com
All rights reserved.