Dysphonia: Voice Disorders
What is Dysphonia?
If your voice has changed, you could be experiencing dysphonia (voice disorder). Voice disorders are a range of conditions that affect the larynx. Your voice may be:
- hoarse
- strained
- weak
- breathy
- low in volume
- reduced in pitch range
- difficult to control/unpredictable
Your voice may even have disappeared altogether (aphonia).
You may also be experiencing:
- pain and/or discomfort when speaking.
- feeling that you need to cough or clear your throat more regularly than usual
- other people commenting on how you sound or asking you to repeat yourself
- difficulty raising the volume of your voice and making yourself heard
- loss of some of your pitch range or volume
- problems speaking on the telephone, in social situations and at work.
You first step should be to seek advice from your GP, who may refer you on to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon for assessment. With any persistent voice change beyond 4-6 weeks, you need to have been assessed by an ENT Consultant within the previous 6 months before we can progress to voice therapy (there are exceptions so just get in touch to discuss if you are unsure). This is to identify any underlying conditions that may need medical or surgical treatment and to provide as much information as possible about how your larynx looks and functions.
There are many possible causes of dysphonia, including:
- Inappropriate muscle tension
- voice misuse (possibly associated with your occupation)
- infection
- nodules or cysts
- haemorrhaging (burst blood vessels)
- vocal cord paralysis or weakness (temporary or permanent damage to the nerves supplying the vocal cords)
- neurological conditions (e.g. laryngeal dystonia, Parkinson’s Disease)
- psychological factors such as anxiety or depression
- allergies
- hormonal variation
- in very rare cases, cancer
Your ENT Consultant/Laryngologist will either advise surgery or, more likely, referral to an SLT/SLP (same thing!) who specialises in voice disorders for a programme of voice therapy.
I work closely with ENT Consultants based in Sheffield and Derbyshire but am also able to accept referrals from anywhere in the UK. If you are not based in the UK, please contact me to discuss how I can help you.