Voice disorders generally do not dramatically affect quality of life. In most cases, these conditions are reversible when their underlying causes are addressed. Instances in which voice disorders may affect quality of life include cases of throat cancer and cases in which invasive surgery is required to remove abnormal growths. Vocal weakness or paralysis, often the result of neurological conditions or certain cancers, can also have long-term effects on quality of life. The voice is an integral part of human communication and language; without it, people have to learn alternate communication techniques to compensate for their loss.
Voice Disorders
Some of the most common symptoms of voice disorders are a change in your voice (it becomes either deeper or raspy), you have trouble singing, your throat feels raw or itchy and you find yourself repeatedly clearing your throat. These symptoms can be caused by inflammation, respiratory infection, growths on your vocal cords or just by overusing your voice if you are for example a professional singer or a member of a cheerleading squad. If you develop a voice disorder, you may want to see an otolaryngologist to determine the cause of your voice problem.
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Voice disorders are conditions that cause abnormal and spontaneous changes in the voice. Laryngitis, vocal nodules, contact ulcers, and vocal polyps are common examples of disorders that can affect the voice. All of these conditions impact the vocal chords (folds of tissue located in the larynx that are responsible for producing the voice). Voice disorders can be caused by infections, inhaled irritants, cancer, or vocal strain from a lot of speaking and yelling.
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Managing your voice disorder on a daily basis will involve treating its symptoms and underlying cause. Typically voice disorders are brought on by vocal misuse or abuse (speaking a lot or in a way that might damage your voice). Refraining from misusing or abusing your voice and learning proper techniques for speaking and singing can do a lot to help resolve your voice disorder. Treating the underlying cause of your voice disorder—such as laryngitis, vocal polyps, or throat cancer—can also help you to recover.
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Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answeredRoughly 40 percent of what you communicate is achieved through the components of what's called para-linguistics, the part of nonverbal communication that conveys emotions and attitudes through tone, pitch, volume, pauses, and throat-clears. What's even more amazing is that these signals have five times more the communicative value than the actual spoken words. Specifically, these are some of the messages that can be conveyed about personality traits:
- An increased rate of speaking generally implies that the individual is more animated and extroverted.
- Flatness in the tone of voice indicates more withdrawn and masculine characteristics.
- A nasal sound is considered undesirable.
- A person with a weak voice is usually perceived as lacking confidence, which lowers credibility. A strong voice, on the other hand, shows great confidence.
- Deeper voice in men means more testosterone at time of puberty, so more able to defend his spouse.
- More high-pitched voice in females means more estrogen at puberty, so more able to birth viable children.