Voice Disorders

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Seniors
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Voice is the sound made by air passing from your lungs through your larynx, or voice box. In your larynx are your vocal cords, two bands of muscle that vibrate to make sound. For most of us, our voices play a big part in who we are, what we do, and how we communicate. Like fingerprints, each person's voice is unique.

Many things we do can injure our vocal cords. Talking too much, screaming, constantly clearing your throat, or smoking can make you hoarse. They can also lead to problems such as nodules, polyps, and sores on the vocal cords. Other causes of voice disorders include infections, upward movement of stomach acids into the throat, growths due to a virus, cancer, and diseases that paralyze the vocal cords.

Signs that your voice isn't healthy include

• Your voice has become hoarse or raspy
• You've lost the ability to hit some high notes when singing
• Your voice suddenly sounds deeper
• Your throat often feels raw, achy, or strained
• It's become an effort to talk

Treatment for voice disorders varies depending on the cause. Most voice problems can be successfully treated when diagnosed early.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

• About Your Voice (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Taking Care of Your Voice (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• What Is Voice? What Is Speech? What Is Language? (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Laryngoscopy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Laryngoscopy (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Keep Your Voice Sound: How to Prevent and Avoid Voice Problems (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Keeping Your Voice Healthy (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Tips for Healthy Voices (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)

Living With

• Speech for People with Tracheostomies or Ventilators (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Effects of Medications on Voice (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• What's the Difference Between Vocal Cord Dysfunction and Asthma? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Specifics

• Hoarseness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• Laryngitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Laryngospasm: What Causes It? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Paradoxical Vocal Fold Movement (PVFM) (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
• Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis or Laryngeal Papillomatosis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Spasmodic Dysphonia (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Vocal Cord Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Vocal Cord Paralysis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Vocal Fold Paralysis (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
• What Is Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)? (American Thoracic Society) - PDF

Health Check Tools

• Hoarse Voice (DSHI Systems)

Statistics and Research

• Quick Statistics about Voice, Speech, and Language (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Laryngeal Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Laryngitis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vocal Cord Dysfunction (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Voice Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Laryngeal lipoma: a rare cause of dysphonia.
• Article: Voice disorder in systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Article: Reliability and validity of the Dutch pediatric Voice Handicap Index.
• Voice Disorders -- see more articles
• Vocal cord disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders) (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Find a Professional: Online Directory of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Programs (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
• Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Laryngitis (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• What's an Adam's Apple? (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation)

Seniors

• Voice and Aging (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)

Patient Handouts

• Hoarseness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Laryngeal nerve damage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Laryngitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Laryngoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Spasmodic dysphonia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish