voice

Voice Troubles – Episode 117

 in Podcasts  tagged hemorrhage / hoarse / laryngitis / pain / paralysis / reflux / vocal lesions / voice by

A cartoon depiction of a white male with black hair with a tear coming form his eye. You're getting an inside look of his mouth and throat, where there are two 10-spiked, googly-eyed representations of a virus causing sore throat and hoarseness. In front of him are four treatment options. Starting at the top, a while megaphone icon with three curved sound waves with a red X over it, indicating no talking. Below that are two pink pills that say "aspirin" on them. Below that is a bowl with a yellowish liquid and what's possibly a chicken leg to represent warm broth. And at the bottom is a glass with a straw and a little left as a garish filled with brown liquid to represent tea. This is a representation of the top treatment advice given for hoarseness.

Laryngitis

Laryngitis, known as inflammation of the larynx, is the most common cause of hoarseness and voice loss.  It is very common in viral infections, such as a cold, flu, or adenovirus.  Acute laryngitis is caused by an illness, while chronic laryngitis may be a secondary symptom of another problem like acid reflux, smoking, or severe thrush.

There is a lot of advice that goes around about what can “cure” laryngitis or get rid of hoarseness.  Hydration is always key.  Some of the other advice is more anecdotal.  But above all, whatever you do for a hoarse voice, DO NOT WHISPER!

Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease (LPRD)

LRPD is a condition where stomach acid refluxes into and burns the vocal cords.  It may or may not accompany GERD.  It causes intermittent to chronic hoarseness, swallowing troubles, throat pain, or a constant sensation that something is stuck in your throat.

Misuse and Overuse

Misuse of your voice is defined as the inefficient use of your voice.  It may stem from poor posture, poor breath support, or poor hydration.  Overuse of your voice is defined as excessively loud or prolonged use of your voice.

Lesions

Vocal cord lesions are benign growths on the vocal cords that interfere with normal vibration. These can result from repeatedly prolonged periods of misuse or overuse.  They will cause chronic hoarseness or sporadic voice-silencing.  They come in three varieties and are all treatable:  nodules, polyps, and cysts.

Nodules require vocal rest and voice therapy and training to help make sure they don’t happen again.  Polyps and cysts require micro-surgery where the growth is removed, and then rest and therapy and training will follow.

Hemorrhage

If you have a sudden loss of voice after yelling, then it is possible a hemorrhage occurred.  A hemorrhage is when blood vessels in the surface of the vocal cord burst and fill it with blood.  COMPLETE REST is required until the blood is reabsorbed by the body.

Paresis and Paralysis

Paresis is the fancy word for weakness.  Vocal weakness can occur during a viral infection or after neck or throat surgery.  It can be temporary and strength will return on its own after a recovery period, or it can be permanent.  Prolonged or permanent vocal weakness can be improved somewhat through therapy and training.

Paralysis, on the other hand, is neurologically based, whether damage happened in the area of the brain that controls the voice and supporting structures, or the nerves in and around the larynx are damaged.  This can also be temporary or permanent and is generally one-sided.

Symptoms of a weakened or paralyzed vocal cord include noisy breathing – like something is hanging in the way of the air flow.  And breathy talking – like when someone is trying to use their “sexy” voice and there’s more air making noise than vocal vibrations.  There is a surgical repair process that involves taking the working vocal fold and stretching it over so when it activates, it will still come in contact with the unmoving vocal fold.

Callbacks

Voice
Thrush – Mouth Issues

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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

Voice – Episode 116

 in Podcasts  tagged communication / larynx / singing / sound / speech / talking / throat / voice / words by

A black and white photo looking directly at the metal-grated end of a microphone on a stand, as if it's ready for you to use your voice and speak or sing. The microphone is clear and in focus, while the background is blurred to the point that nothing pasted the microphone is recognizable.

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.

  1. 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.”
  2. 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.
  3. 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