throat

Voice – Episode 116

February 28, 2018 in Podcasts tagged communication / larynx / singing / sound / speech / talking / throat / voice / words by Cynthia Hendrix

Voice Anatomy

Larynx: a structure on top of the trachea (windpipe) and holds the vocal folds

Vocal Folds: also known as vocal cords; the soft tissue that vibrates and creates sound when air passes through them. There’s one on each side.

Vocal Box: the structure that surrounds the vocal cords. It’s made of 3 parts – a cover that is made of epithelial cells (similar to the inside of your mouth), vocal ligaments that hold it all in place, and the thyroarytenoid muscle that is responsible for relaxing the vocal cords into place.

Glottis: the opening in the middle of the vocal folds where they sperate for breathing and closes for talking and swallowing.

Voice Production

There are 3 levels of sound production to equal talking.

Voiced Sound: this is the basic vibration of the vocal cords and creates a “buzzing” sound. This is the first step of babies learning to talk and communicate. We say the baby is “discovering their voice.”
Resonance: the “buzzing” sounds are amplified by resonating chambers that include the throat, mouth, and nasal cavity. The sound produced by these chambers is what give you your distinct voice. To produce sound without using one or more of these resonating areas alters your voice significantly.
Articulation: movement of the tongue, soft palate, lips, and jaw modifies and changes the sound to produce words and intelligible speech.

Singing

Singing adds the breathing system to regulate the air pressure that vibrates the vocal cords. The rhythm of putting words to music to create singing changes the pattern and length of words and syllables, and the strength of the diaphragm plays a big part in that.

Just like guitar strings, the tighter the vocal cords, the higher the pitch. More relaxed vocal cords produce a lower pitch. *If you listened to this episode, I’m so sorry for your ears!*

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Music Credits: Up In My Jam (All Of A Sudden) by – Kubbi https://soundcloud.com/kubbiCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…Music provided by Audio Library https://youtu.be/tDexBj46oNI

Swallowing – Episode 112

January 22, 2018 in Podcasts tagged dentist / esophagus / food / mouth / reflex / saliva / Sleep / swallowing / teeth / throat / tongue by Cynthia Hendrix

A young child with no shirt and light brown hair against a blue sky is swallowing gulps of orange juice from a clear plastic bottle.

The 3 Phases of Swallowing

Oral Phase

This phase includes chewing and saliva mixing with the food to form a bolus (a little glob of mashed up food). Then the tongue moves the bolus towards the back of the mouth. The tongue starts by pressing against the hard palate behind the front teeth. Then the sides of the tongue raise up to also press against the hard palate inside the teeth. At this point, the bolus has nowhere to go except towards the back of the throat.

Pharyngeal Phase

The vocal folds in the larynx close to keep food out. The larynx also moves up as the epiglottis covers it to seal off the airway. Then the soft palate and uvula move up and close off the nasal passage So now there is only one way out.

Esophageal Phase

The bolus moves into the esophagus (because it is the only open path). The esophageal muscles contract from top to bottom (this waving, rhythmic muscle movement is called peristalsis) to push the bolus into the stomach.

Swallowing Reflex

There are sensory receptors in the pharynx and tongue that receive touch signals. When they are touched by a bolus, the signals are sent to the brain stem and the return signal results in involuntary and automatic movements of the larynx and epiglottis. This is a good thing since swallowing is a very rhythmic process and you want food and drink to continue going in the correct direction.

This reflex cannot be triggered by sticking your finger in your throat. You are more likely to trigger a gag reflex that way. The voluntary steps of swallowing must be initiated before the involuntary portion of the process takes over.

Weird Swallowing Scenarios

How do you swallow with your mouth open?

At the dentist, you are usually laying in the chair on your back and facing the ceiling. There are at least three tools and two hands in your mouth. Things in your mouth trigger saliva production. Also, generally one of the tools the dentist is using is emitting water. The natural reflex when you have to hold your mouth open for a long time is to bring the back of the tongue and the soft palate together. This seals off the throat and allows you to still breathe through your nose. The liquid in your mouth plus gravity creates a puddle at the seal of your tongue and soft palate. Because the touch sensors to trigger your swallowing reflex are also in this area, it is likely you begin to panic because if they don’t hurry and use the suctioning straw to remove the liquid, you’re going to swallow!

Do you swallow in your sleep?

A study was done to find that the only times you swallow while sleeping is during arousal and during REM. My logical deduction regarding why is that when you’re aroused or in one of the more shallow phases of sleep, that is when you can voluntarily move – roll over, adjust the bedding, and swallow. During REM sleep, most people will experience sleep paralysis, so whatever exciting things are happening in their brain, the body is not likely to act it out. Because the brain cannot tell if a dream is real or imaginary, the feeling solicited can trigger hormones secretions and saliva production. Increased saliva, just like in the dentist scenario, can trigger swallowing.

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Tonsils – Episode 110

December 11, 2017 in Podcasts tagged bacteria / immune system / infection / lymph / stones / throat / tonsillitis / tonsilloliths / tonsils / virus by Cynthia Hendrix

An image of a caucasian child's mouth, open wide with their teeth, tongue, and uvula visible. This is representative of the way one may open wide for a doctor to inspect the tonsils and throat.

Tonsils Basics

Your tonsils can be found in the back of your throat. You can open your mouth and look in the mirror and see them on each side of your mouth behind your teeth and tongue. You can also feel them below your earlobes and behind your jaw bone.

Tonsils are composed of lymph tissue since they are a part of your lymph system. They store white blood cells that help you fight off infection. Their activation during sickness is why they swell and get sore.

They are covered with the same mucosal membrane as the rest of the inside of your mouth. This mucosa layer has pits and crevices called crypts. These crypts increase the surface area of the mucosa that comes in contact with the lymph tissue and allows more opportunity for infectious material to be directly accessed by the immune system.

Infectious Tonsil Issues

Tonsillitis is the inflammation of the tonsils. It can be classified as acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis is directly related to a viral or bacterial infection. Chronic tonsillitis can be either a persistent, long-lasting infection or multiple consecutive acute episodes that can appear to be one long sickness.

Swollen tonsils can cause simple activities such as swallowing, talking, and breathing very painful. You can see your swollen tonsils when you look in the mirror. They will appear red or possibly blistered.

Mono, an infection caused in adolescents and adults by the Epstein-Barr virus, cause severe swelling in all the lymph nodes, including the tonsils. This is one of the situations where your tonsils will be so inflamed, you can see the swelling on the outside of your face and neck. Because such a large portion of your lymph system is involved, including your spleen, this is a serious sickness.

Strep throat is probably the first infection you think about when you think of swollen tonsils. The bacteria, streptococcus, infect the lining of the tonsils and throat. This is why the doctor will swab your tonsils when they’re testing for strep.

Non-Infectious Tonsil Issues

A non-infectious reason the tonsils will be large is a condition caused hypertrophic tonsils. The tonsil tissue and/or mucosa overgrow and become oversized without any infection or immune activation being involved. Overgrown tonsil tissue can lead to snoring or sleep apnea, and that’s bad.

Another non-infectious issue with your tonsils is called tonsilloliths or tonsil stones. These stones happen when dead bacteria or food debris gets stuck in the crypts and they become calcified. They cause a sensation many describe as a crumb stuck in your throat. They can become quite large and can interfere with swallowing and eustachian tube function. Because the eustachian tubes run from your eardrum into your throat, if the tonsil is swollen enough, it may close off the tube to the ear and cause ear pressure/pain. Some tonsil stones are large enough to be visible and may have to be manually removed. Lastly, due to the composition of the stones (dead bacteria and old food), frequent tonsil stones can be the cause of bad breath.

There’s no way to prevent tonsil stones 100%. Good oral hygiene can certainly help reduce the frequency of stones, and can also help remove them quickly if they occur. The most common way of trying to remove a tonsil stone involve coughing, clearing your throat, or hissing. All three of these ways produce vibrations in the lining of the throat and mouth. So along with the exhalation of these methods, hopefully, the result is the stone coming out of the tonsil and out of your mouth.

PSA: Please DO NOT scratch your tonsils with your fingernails to remove a tonsil stone!

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