Causes of a Hoarse Voice

And How to Manage the Symptoms

Sometimes, even if you do not have a cold, symptoms of sudden hoarseness can appear. If you are tired or use your voice a lot, your voice may become hoarse.

When your voice changes like this, it often improves with enough rest, but in some cases the symptoms may continue.

Let’s look at what causes hoarseness and how to manage and prevent symptoms when your voice becomes hoarse.

You often see singers whose voices become hoarse due to vocal cord nodules. If you use your voice too much or strain your voice excessively, your voice can become hoarse because of vocal cord nodules.

When repeated vibrations irritate the mucosa of the vocal cords, fibrosis can occur and the nodules become harder, which can lead to a hoarse voice.

When your voice becomes hoarse, you may want to suspect thyroid disease. If you have hypothyroidism, swelling may occur in the vocal cords, causing your voice to become hoarse.

In particular, if it is thyroid cancer, nodules can form near the vocal cord nerves. As they grow larger and affect the vocal cords, your voice may suddenly become hoarse or breathing may become difficult.

Smoking can also easily make your voice hoarse. Irritation from cigarette smoke can cause the mucosa of the vocal cords to swell, leading to hoarseness.

Hoarseness can also occur if the vocal cord nerves are paralyzed. Because you have to speak while the vocal cords are not closing properly, a hoarse voice may appear.

This symptom can appear due to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which means stomach acid and stomach contents flow back up into the laryngopharynx.

If you have laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, you may feel a foreign body sensation as if something is stuck in your throat, and it can cause symptoms such as hoarseness.

In addition, as people age, their voices can naturally become hoarse. Due to aging, the muscles surrounding the vocal cords degenerate, and the voice can change.

As shown above, hoarseness can occur for various reasons, so it is best to identify the cause of the symptom and respond appropriately and take preventive measures.

In most cases, the symptoms improve with enough rest, but if the symptoms persist, it is best to get examined and receive treatment.

Since symptoms may occur due to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, it is good to reduce your intake of spicy or salty irritating foods in daily life, and refraining from drinking alcohol can help prevent symptoms.

Also, since smoking can dry out the vocal cords, it is best to avoid smoking, and avoid behaviors such as throat clearing that can irritate the vocal cords.

Along with this, it is good to drink enough water so that the vocal cords do not become dry, and maintaining proper indoor humidity can help prevent symptoms.

We looked at what causes hoarseness and how to prevent symptoms when your voice becomes hoarse. Please check the information above and take care of your throat health.