Voice Disorders Can Mean More Than Just A Raspy Whisper

Voice disorders are a common challenge that can range from minor hoarseness to cancer.  Dr. Ted Truitt from St. Cloud ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) joined me on WJON for our Health Matters program.

Raspy Voice

A voice disorder is can be just a raspy voice because of overuse but it could be something more serious.  Dr. Truitt says contributing factors could be something wrong with your vocal chords to a stuffy nose.  He says a bigger focus can be problems with the voice box.  Dr. Truitt says you need to have good functioning lungs that can send air to the vocal chords, which are made up of muscles and layers of tissue.  At the bottom of the vocal chord is a muscle and that muscle and tighten and loosen which allows for different frequencies.

Hoarseness

Dr. Truitt says acute voice hoarseness can be caused by smoking.  He says in no way is smoking good for your voice, voice box or vocal chords.  Truitt says the swelling of the vocal chords cause that deep voice that heavy smokers tend to have.  He says if they have a patient who complains of hoarseness the first thing they suggest is they quit smoking.  Dr. Truitt says often times that solves their problem.  Smoking can cause hoarseness but he says the most common cause is a viral infection.  Truitt says hoarseness should be gone in 2 to 3 weeks but if it isn't, that could be a bigger problem.  He says vocal overuse in addition to a viral infection is likely to cause hoarseness.

Cancer of Vocal Chords

Dr. Truitt says if a person is suffering from hoarseness for more than 6-8 weeks, they could be dealing with a bigger problem.  He says people can get cancer of the vocal chords.  Truitt says the key is early detection.  He says is can be treated and removed as long as the cancer has not spread.  Truitt says surgery or radiation can be an option for those dealing with cancer of the vocal chords.  He says the key is to see in physician early in hoarseness problems continue.

If you'd like to listen to my 4-part conversation with Dr. Ted Truitt, click below.