Losing my Voice with an extremely sore throat: what are good Posted: 10-06-06 09:08am
Throughout my college years I went out at
night a lot. Previous to this, I hadn't.
As I started to go out at night I would
develop an extreme sore throat and
throughout my college years I pretty much
had a raspy voice every day to the point
in which people perceived it to be my
actual voice.
Recently I have not gone out as much and
my sore throat has subsided, however, it
never fails that if I do go out to the
bar, or to a sporting event my sore throat
returns every single time proceeded by
days of having no voice.
I am not a smoker, however being at the
bar I am around a lot of smoke -
unfortunately. Here is how my sore throat
usually comes about:
I will be at the bar and I am guessing
that due to the smoke and my need to speak
louder than normal due to the loud music
my throat becomes sore, or I am at a
sporting event and shouting for my team,
or I do not get much sleep one night and
then my throat is sore the next day.
Usually my symptoms will begin when I am
out - at the worst times it will feel like
my throat is being sliced with knives - to
the point where I attempt not to talk at
all, or talk in a whisper. My throat will
be extremely sore the next morning, and
usually my voice is extremely raspy for
the next week where it's hard for people
to hear me and understand me, especially
on the phone. It has reached the point
where it is very difficult for me to
communicate because my voice becomes so
quiet.
I understand that being around smoke and
having to elevate my voice can cause these
symptoms, but this is no everyday losing
my voice type thing - along with losing my
voice I am in a lot of pain. I am
wondering why everyone else I know can be
in the same environment as I but be fine,
and what is causing this whether it is
allergies or something more serious. If
you have any suggestions as to what I can
do to prevent this from occuring
(vitamins, different diet etc.) that would
be great. I would just really like to
know what is going on with me and if I
need to be worried for the future
condition of my throat.
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders Answer A1606 Posted: 10-10-06 07:41am
According to the symptoms you report (sore
throat, having no voice), you might be
experiencing inflammation of the larynx
(laryngitis). During inflammation, the
vocal cords become thicker due to the
edema. Edematous vocal cords can’t
vibrate well and the voice becomes hoarse
at first and can be lost completely,
later. There could be many reasons that
are causing inflammation of the vocal
cords : infection, allergy, irritation,
etc. When an inflammation heals, the
symptoms should disappear. You may also be
too sensitive to cigarette smoke in the
bars.
Other than inflammation, tumors
(papilomas) on the vocal cords can also
cause a hoarse voice and even loss of
voice. But in cases of papilomas, the
symptoms are usually constant and even
progressive.
You'll need to visit your GP first and
then an ENT-specialist, if necessary.
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