What can be the cause of a chronically hoarse voice?

The most common cause of a chronically hoarse voice is voice use, abuse or misuse; but allergies and acid reflux, or throatburn, can also cause hoarseness. In this video, otolaryngologist Jonathan Aviv, MD, shares the common causes of a hoarse voice.

Transcript

00:00

[MUSIC PLAYING] Common causes of hoarseness are allergies. Whether it's seasonal or year round,

00:06

that can also cause hoarseness. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:15

The most common cause of a chronically hoarse voice is some type of voice use, abuse, or misuse.

00:24

So classically, we see it in singers, in teachers, in clergy. Those are the most common situations

00:33

where we see nonvoice professionals with hoarseness. Clearly, if you're using your voice, you're singing, whether you're singing for your own pleasure

00:43

or singing professionally, then also you're going to have an increased chance for getting hoarse.

00:49

Some of the other common causes of hoarseness are allergies. Whether it's seasonal or year round,

00:57

that can also cause hoarseness. As you have nasal drip or congestion in your nose, all the tissues in the head and neck

01:05

get swollen, so your vocal cords can get swollen, and that can give you hoarseness. Another even more common cause besides allergies

01:14

is acid reflux. Now, you traditionally think of acid reflux as heartburn, but, actually, acid reflux should

01:22

be thought of as throat burn. And with the throat burn comes swollen vocal cords from stomach acid coming up and literally

01:30

burning the tissues, which causes swelling. Again, when the vocal cords are swollen, they don't vibrate normally, they vibrate slowly,

01:39

like in molasses. And when that happens, you get hoarse.