VOICE of reason
HAVE YOU NOTICED CHANGES TO THE WAY YOU SPEAK? FIND OUT WHAT IT CAN MEAN
Have you noticed that your voice seems to have changed? Maybe it’s become raspy or sounds weaker than it used to.
Often, changes to the way you speak can be temporary and their causes can be obvious – perhaps you have a throat infection or a job that involves raising your voice, straining your vocal cords.
But problems with your voice can also be symptoms of serious health conditions.
It’s important to see your doctor if you have issues with your voice so the cause can be found. There are many possible reasons for a weak or hoarse voice:
• AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS
Some diseases cause the immune system to mistakenly attack the body, which can inflame the vocal cords, causing hoarseness. This can be severe, such as in the case of Sjogren’s syndrome, which also damages the glands that produce tears and saliva, drying out the mouth and
throat. Other
autoimmune illnesses associated with hoarseness include rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and lupus.
• NERVE DAMAGE
Damage to the nerves that control the vocal cords can make your voice sound weak and breathless. These injuries can result from surgery to nearby areas, such as the thyroid gland.
Treatment may involve plumping up the vocal cords by injecting them with fillers – the same substances used by dermatologists and plastic surgeons to temporarily get rid of wrinkles.
• VIRAL INFECTION
A bacterial, viral or fungal infection can strike the larynx, causing hoarseness. This usually goes away on its own, but severe viral infections can damage the nerves that control the vocal cords.
Injected fillers can also be used to treat people whose vocal cords are damaged due to infection.
• PARKINSON’S DISEASE
In the same way Parkinson’s can cause slowness, tremor and rigidity, it can also affect breathing, speech and your voice. This is known as hypokinetic dysarthria. Symptoms include being unable to speak loudly, a hoarse voice, imprecise articulation and vocal tremor.
People with hypokinetic dysarthria may think they are speaking normally, but people keep asking them to speak up.
• AGE-RELATED ATROPHY
As we age, parts of our body work less effectively and our vocal cords can be affected. They may start to atrophy once you reach your 60s. Treatment with injected filler can help – it plumps up shrunken vocal cords so they are better able to touch and produce sounds. • OVERUSING
YOUR VOICE
If you have a job or hobby that requires you to speak loudly – if you work in a noisy environment such as a bar or factory, are a sports coach, or teach exercise classes and have to project your voice over music, for instance – benign growths can develop on your vocal cords, causing hoarseness.
When you notice the hoarse feeling coming on, it’s a good idea to rest your voice by using it as little as possible.
• GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE (GERD)
Ongoing reflux can lead to hoarseness because the backflow of stomach acids into the throat may cause inflammation and swelling of the vocal cords.
Standard reflux treatments such as medication can help by preventing reflux, but it is important to investigate other possible causes.
• THYROID PROBLEMS
AND THYROID CANCER
A change in your voice can mean something is wrong with the thyroid gland. For example, an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) means you are not secreting enough thyroid hormones and this can lead to a deep, hoarse voice.
• LARYNX, LUNG OR THYROID CANCER
In rare cases, changes to the voice can be due to pre-cancerous or cancerous growths on the larynx.
People who smoke have the greatest risk of developing cancer of the larynx. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol may also play a part.
Other symptoms can include a sore throat, the sense of having a lump in your throat, difficulty breathing/swallowing and lumps on the neck.
Cancers that affect body parts near the throat, such as the thyroid gland or lungs, can put pressure on the vocal nerves and weaken the voice.