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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In this video, Jason Bywaters, MA, CCC-SLP from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center explains the ways voice disorders may affect a patient’s quality of life.
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In this video, Jason Bywaters, MA, CCC-SLP from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center offers his advice on how to best manage voice disorders. Watch to learn more.
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Jason Bywaters, MA, CCC-SLP from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center speaks on some common voice disorders seen by speech pathologists in this video.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredSee All 2 AnswersBehaviors such as smoking and vocal misuse (screaming, yelling, and speaking a lot or singing incorrectly) can profoundly increase your risk of developing a voice disorder. Other risk factors include throat infections, allergies, and exposure to inhaled irritants. While voice disorders are not always completely preventable, reducing risky behaviors such as smoking and vocal misuse can reduce your chances of developing one of these conditions.
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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- Flatness in the tone of voice indicates more withdrawn and masculine characteristics.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. -
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredLaryngeal cancer and its treatment can cause problems with talking. A speech-language pathologist can assess your needs and plan therapy, which may include speech exercises.
If you need your entire larynx removed, you must learn to speak in a new way. Talking is part of nearly everything you do, so it’s natural to be scared if your larynx must be removed. Losing the ability to talk is hard. It takes practice and patience to learn new ways to speak.
Before surgery or soon after, the speech-language pathologist can describe your choices for speech:- Electric larynx: An electric larynx is a small device that can help you talk after your larynx has been removed. It’s powered by a battery. The electric larynx makes a humming sound like the vocal cords. Some models are used in the mouth whereas other models are placed on the neck.
- Esophageal speech: There is no device to carry around for esophageal speech because the sound is made with air. A speech-language pathologist can teach you how to release air like a burp from the walls of your throat. It takes practice, but you can learn how to form words from the released air with the lips, tongue, and teeth.
- Tracheoesophageal puncture: The surgeon makes a small opening between your trachea and esophagus, and a small device is placed in the opening. With practice, you can learn to speak by covering the stoma and forcing air through the device. The air makes sound by vibrating the walls of your throat.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered
Catarrh can cause discomfort, so help someone with catarrh to remember to take their decongestants as the directions say to. Children should not use steam as a method of relieving congestions because of the danger of burns from the steam. When caring for someone with catarrh, be aware of environmental triggers that can cause future catarrh irritation.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered
There are two different types of catarrh. Acute catarrh is the type that is temporary; it lasts a few days and usually clears up on its own. People can treat the congestion if they feel too much discomfort. Chronic catarrh is longer lasting and has an underlying problem like allergies, non-allergic rhinitis, or nasal polyps. Further treatment is needed to help cure this catarrh and prevent it from recurring.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered
Voice disorders can be caused by a wide array of conditions and contributing factors. Common causes include vocal strain (yelling, screaming, or speaking a lot), viral infections (laryngitis), polyps, nodules, cancer, and inhaled irritants such as cigarette smoke. Many causes of voice disorders can be corrected, leading to the resolution of the voice disorder. Abstaining from vocal misuse and smoking are significant ways to reduce your risk of developing a voice disorder or to correct a voice disorder you have already developed.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredSee All 2 Answers
The primary symptoms of voice disorders are abnormal and spontaneous changes in the voice. Hoarseness, an unusual pitch, or uncontrollable volume may indicate the presence of a voice disorder. In addition to these common voice disorder symptoms, other symptoms may occur as a result of the underlying cause of the voice disorder. In laryngitis and throat cancer, for instance, an itch, a tickling sensation, or an urge to clear the throat may accompany vocal changes.