Description

People develop a voice disorder for many reasons. A voice disorder is a change in how the voice sounds. Health care providers are trained in ear, nose and throat diseases and speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat voice problems.

The treatment depends on what is causing the change of voice. The treatment may include voice therapy, medication, injections or surgery.

Causes

The voice box, also called the voice box, is made of a soft cover, muscle, and soft, wet areas. The voice box is located in the upper part of the trachea, also known as the windpipe, or trachea, and the base of the tongue. The vocal cords vibrate to create sound.

The air that moves through the voice box makes the vocal cords vibrate and binds even more. The vocal cords also help to close the larynx during swallowing to prevent the breathing in food or liquid.

If the vocal cords are swollen or inflamed, develop growths or may not move as it should, it may not work properly. Any of these can cause a disorder of the voice.

Some disorders of the voice are:

  • Laryngitis
  • Voice of the changes related to the brain and nervous system, known as spasmodic dysphonia (spaz-MOD-ki dis-FOE-nee-uh)
  • Polyps, nodules or cysts of the vocal cords — tumors that are not cancer
  • Precancerous and cancerous
  • Vocal cord paralysis or weakness
  • White spots, also known as leukoplakia (loo-koh-PLAY-key-uh)

Risk factors

Many factors can lead to a disorder of the voice, such as:

  • Aging
  • The use of Alcohol
  • Allergies
  • The conditions related to the brain and the nervous system, such as Parkinson's disease or a stroke
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  • Illnesses, such as colds or infections of the upper respiratory tract
  • The scars of neck surgery or trauma in the front part of the neck
  • Screaming
  • Smoking
  • Throat cancer
  • The throat of the dehydration
  • Thyroid problems
  • The voice of the use, misuse or excessive use

Diagnosis

Your health care provider will ask about problems of the voice and do a test. Your doctor can give you a numbing medicine before the test. Your doctor might use one or more of these tools:

  • Mirror. Your provider can also put in your mouth, an instrument such as a mirror dental. It is long, and the mirror is angled.
  • Flexible Laryngoscope. This is a flexible tube that has a light and a camera. A supplier offers through the nose.
  • Laryngoscope rigid. A supplier offers to this rigid viewing tube through the mouth.
  • Videostroboscope. A camera combined with a flashing light gives a slow-motion view of the vocal cords move.

A care provider may use other tests, such as:

  • The analysis of the sound. The use of a computer, this test can measure anything unusual in the sound of the vocal cords do.
  • Electromyography laryngeal. Small needles are put in through the skin to measure the electrical currents in the voice box muscles.

Treatment

Depending on your diagnosis, your doctor may suggest one or more treatments:

  • Rest, fluids, and voice therapy. As each part of the body, the vocal cords need regular rest and fluids. Pathology of the voice of the specialists to teach how to use the voice, how to clear the throat and of the amount of liquid to drink.
  • Treatments for allergies. If the allergy is to make too much mucus in the throat, a health care provider can find the allergy to the cause and treat it.
  • Stop smoking. Quitting smoking can help to improve the voice and many other areas of health. For example, you can increase the health of the heart and reduce the risk of cancer.
  • Of medicine. Many medications can be used to treat disorders of the voice. Depending on the cause of the voice disorder, the medication can reduce the swelling or the inflammation, the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or stop blood vessel regrowth. The medicine can be taken orally, injected into the vocal cords, or applied to the surface of the vocal cords during surgery.

Procedures

  • The removal of growths.Growths on the vocal cords, even growths that are not cancer, it may be removed during surgery. A surgeon can remove tumors using microsurgical carbon dioxide laser surgery, and when appropriate, to other laser treatments, including the potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser treatment. KTPlaser treatment is a state-of-the-art therapy that treats of injury on the vocal cords by cutting off the blood supply to the growth. This allows you to remove the growth, leaving intact most of the underlying tissues.
  • Injections. Injections of small amounts of purified botulinum toxin in the skin of the neck can help stop muscle spasms or unusual movements. This drug is a problem of movement-related brain and the nervous system. This condition, called spasmodic dysphonia, which affects the vocal muscles of the larynx.

The removal of growths. Growths on the vocal cords, even growths that are not cancer, it may be removed during surgery. A surgeon can remove tumors using microsurgical carbon dioxide laser surgery, and when appropriate, to other laser treatments, including the potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser treatment.

KTP laser treatment is a state-of-the-art therapy that treats of injury on the vocal cords by cutting off the blood supply to the growth. This allows you to remove the growth, leaving intact most of the underlying tissues.

Sometimes a vocal cord cannot be moved. A paralyzed vocal cord can cause hoarseness. It can also cause choking when drinking fluid. But it rarely causes problems swallowing solid foods. Sometimes the problem will go away with time.

If the problem does not go away, one of the two procedures can push the paralyzed vocal cord closer to the middle of the trachea. Procedure allows the vocal cords come together and vibrate together. This improves the voice and allows the larynx to close the swallow. The treatments include:

  • Injections of collagen or fat. The injection of body fat or artificial collagen, either through the mouth or the skin on the neck, it adds volume to the paralyzed vocal cord. Also dealing with vocal cord weakness.
  • Thyroplasty. A small opening created in the fabric, also called cartilage, from the outside of the box of the voice. A surgeon places an implant in the opening and push it against the paralyzed vocal cord.

Read more about the paralysis of the vocal cords treatment and allergies at the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms and treatment of Voice disorders