Have you been experiencing hoarse voice for months?
Then, this video is for you.
I am going to tell you about 5 most common causes of chronic hoarseness.
And I will also tell you the very first step you need to take on the way to recovery.
Stick around, I’ll be right back.
Hi!
I am Katarina, speech language pathologist from How 2 Improve Singing and here on this
channel, I share practical tips about using your voice in a healthy way.
So, if this is a topic that interests you, consider subscribing to this channel and hitting
that bell notification icon so that you don’t miss any of my videos.
Ok, let’s talk about chronic hoarseness.
The term hoarseness generally describes abnormal voice changes.
When your voice is hoarse, it means that you may sound breathy, raspy, strained, or you
may have trouble speaking or singing loudly or in higher vocal ranges.
You may have no pain or it may be painful to talk.
The changes can be mild or very severe, they can come and go or stay for the whole day.
Acute hoarseness lasts less than two weeks.
Chronic hoarseness lasts more than two weeks.
So, if you’ve had hoarse voice for months, it means you have chronic hoarseness and it’s
time to take action!
There are many causes of hoarseness.
Acute hoarseness, that lasts less than 2 weeks, is most frequently caused by an acute infection,
such as common cold or flu, and luckily this type of hoarseness is not serious and goes
away after the infection subsides.
But chronic hoarseness is a different story.
Here are 5 common causes of hoarse voice that lasts longer than 2 weeks:
Cause #1 Vocal Abuse, Misuse or Overuse Vocal abuse is any vocal behaviour with high
impact on the vocal folds.
Examples of such behaviours are yelling, screaming, excessive coughing or throat clearing.
During these behaviours, your vocal folds bang against each other in a very abrupt and
forceful way, which causes their damage and swelling.
When you sing or speak with faulty vocal technique, you can also cause vocal fold swelling and
hoarseness.
Some people call it vocal misuse.
For example, if you push your voice to increase loudness, if you engage muscles unnecessary
for voice production, you are straining your voice beyond its normal limits.
This is a very common scenario when talking or singing while sick.
For example, you get a cold or flu but you continue speaking or singing.
In order to produce good quality voice, you need to exert more vocal effort and maybe
push your voice a little bit more than normal.
After the sickness goes away, you continue using this effortful way of voice production,
which leads to more hoarseness and vocal fold swelling.
That’s how chronic hoarseness often develops.
Another common scenario is using incorrect vocal technique when singing.
If you get hoarse after or during singing, your body is telling you that you are not
using your vocal instrument in a healthy way.
It is a warning sign that should be taken seriously.
I made a video on this topic and you can watch it by clicking this link.
Now, let’s say that you have good vocal technique but you still get hoarse after speaking
or singing.
You may be overusing your vocal instrument.
Vocal overuse happens when vocal folds work more than they are conditioned to.
This is a very typical problem for professional voice users, such as singers, actors, presenters,
sales people, teachers and especially music teachers, or anyone whose voice is essential
in their daily jobs.
In this case, you are not giving your voice a chance to recover properly.
Here is the deal: your vocal folds come together hundreds of times every single second when
you produce voiced sounds.
Every time the vocal folds collide, there is some loss of cells from the superficial
layer of the vocal folds.
Luckily for us, vocal folds have an amazing ability to repair themselves but we need to
give them time.
If you are overusing your voice, the vocal folds don’t get a chance to restore, which
results in vocal fold swelling and hoarseness.
It is easy to eliminate these behaviours once you know what they are.
However, sometimes, people don’t even know that they are misusing their voices.
To help you uncover vocal behaviours that may be the cause of hoarseness, I prepared
a free checklist that you can get by clicking this link or a link below this video.
Cause #2 Reflux Acid reflux, GERD, LPRD or laryngo-pharyngeal
reflux are just a few names for a condition when acidic fluids from the stomach flow backward
into the esophagus and throat, which may cause irritation of the larynx.
Acid reflux is a very common cause of chronic hoarseness.
Very often, people are not even aware of having reflux because some types of reflux don’t
have obvious symptoms, such as heartburn or indigestion.
Sometimes, the only symptom can be morning hoarseness.
That is because the backward flow of acid fluids is worse when lying down.
So, when you wake up after a good night sleep, your vocal folds are irritated.
Hoarseness then improves throughout the day and returns again after lying down or in the
morning.
Other symptoms of acid reflux can be the sensation of having a lump in the throat, called globus
sensation, chronic throat clearing or coughing, or difficulty swallowing.
Cause #3 Allergies How can allergies cause hoarseness?
Allergens themselves can irritate the vocal folds and cause inflammation, swelling and
hoarseness.
When you suffer from allergies, your nose is runny or stuffed up.
Some of the secretions made in the nose can then drip down onto the vocal folds and cause
irritation in this way.
Also, you may feel the need to clear your throat or cough often, which are behaviours
that are definitely abusive to the vocal folds, if they persist for a long time.
And some allergy medication can also cause hoarseness.
For example, antihistamines have a drying effect on the mucus in your nose but also
on the mucus covering the vocal folds.
Dried up vocal folds can lead to hoarseness.
Cause #4 Smoking Smoking is an obvious cause of hoarseness.
It’s been well researched and documented that smoking causes changes on the vocal folds,
for example their thickening and even cancer.
This cause should not be a surprise for anyone anymore.
In recent years, vaping is becoming more and more prominent and while we don’t know much
about vaping and its effects on human body, I would encourage caution.
Cause #5 Other Causes Less common causes of hoarseness may include
growths on the vocal folds, including cancerous growths or benign lesions such as vocal nodules,
polyps, or cysts.
Also, neurological disorders, hormonal problems and other chronic conditions may lead to hoarseness.
Some of these may be very serious and some of them can be treated easily.
So, what should you do with chronic hoarseness of voice?
As you can see, there are many different causes of hoarseness.
Each of these causes is treated differently, so the very first step in treating chronic
hoarseness is establishing its cause.
And this can be done only with the help of a professional, more specifically an ENT doctor.
So, the first step in getting rid of your hoarse voice is making that phone call to
schedule a visit with your doctor who can diagnose the underlying cause.
Once you know the real cause of your problem, a treatment plan can be developed.
This can include improving vocal hygiene, reducing vocal use, eliminating vocal abuse,
also voice therapy, surgery, medical management of acid reflux, allergies, and other underlying
conditions.
So, the bottom line is, if you have hoarse voice for months, talk to your doctor.
Start looking for real solutions that will help you regain your voice back.
It may take some time to deal with chronic hoarseness, so be patient.
I hope you liked this video.
If you did, give it thumbs up.
And check out my other videos right here below.
I will see you in the next one.