Voice Diseases

The quality of our voice mainly depend on whether the vocal cords can move and vibrate comfortably and smoothly. In people with a very pleasant timbre, the vocal cords vibrate normally and synchronously, and there are no lesions on the vocal cords.

Every individual may experience Voice Diseases at a certain period of their lives. Voice Disorders, which occur for different reasons and have many types, adversely affect people’s general health and daily life.

In order for an individual to have a healthy and beautiful tone of voice, the vocal cords must fully touch each other during vibration. If the person’s vocal cords are not smooth or there are other laryngeal diseases, the voice is certainly affected. Voice Diseases can cause the individual’s voice to be hoarse, weak, and unsatisfactory.

Ear Nose Throat (ENT) Specialist Prof. Dr. Hakan BİRKENT has been helping people with voice diseases to have a healthy voice and vocal cords for many years.

If you think that there is a problem in your voice, throat or vocal cords, you can make an appointment by contacting us immediately, and you can ensure that the most appropriate treatment plan is created and applied for you.

Causes of Voice Diseases

Voice Diseases can be caused by many different reasons. The most common cause is overuse or misuse of the voice. However, this list goes on and on in the form of smoking, poor vocal hygiene, previous infections, tumoral and inflammatory causes.

In general, the conditions that cause people to experience Voice Diseases;

• Organic
• Infectious
• Neurogenic
• Functional

Among them, the pathologies that most often cause hoarseness are benign tumoral lesions such as polyps, nodules, cysts, and reinke edema.

Symptoms of Voice Diseases

The most common symptoms in individuals exposed to voice disorders can be sorted as follows:

• Pain in the throat when talking,
• Feeling pain or tension in the throat and larynx area,
• Sensation of stumbling in the throat while swallowing,
• Experiencing hoarseness at regular intervals or continuously,
• The voice is completely gone,
• Difficulties during speech,
• Failure to breathe healthily,
• The sound is thinner or thicker than normal,
• Disappearance of smoothness in voice,
• It is not possible to sing and speak loudly,
• The voice worsens during the day,

How Are Voice Diseases Diagnosed?

A thorough medical examination is necessary with the help of updated medical technology in order to provide an excellent visualization of the vocal cords. In order to obtain detailed information about the vocal cords, your doctor will use videolaryngostroboscopy or flexible nasopharyngolaryngoscopy in office setting. Acoustic, neurologic, and radiologic investigations should also be performed in order to provide accurate diagnosis of the Voice Disease.

How Are Voice Diseases Treated?

Voice Diseases are treated by doctors who are experts in this field with treatment methods that are performed individually in the clinical environment. The treatment techniques may include medicines, voice therapy and/or surgical interventions.

Antireflux medications are frequently used to prevent laryngopharyngeal reflux, that is, situations where stomach fluid comes to the larynx and causes irritation on the vocal cords. Additionally, depending on the type and cause of the voice disease, voice therapy applications are generally performed in varying techniques and durations.

In adequate cases voice surgery applications give extremely satisfactory results. These surgeries are generally performed under general anesthesia through the mouth.

What are Voice Diseases?

People can suffer from many Voice Diseases for different reasons, either congenital or acquired. Voice Disorders, which can be seen in both men and women of all ages, adversely affect the quality of life and general health status of the person.

Among the most common voice diseases are;

• Vocal Cord Nodule
• Vocal Cord Polyp
• Vocal Cord Cyst
• Vocal Groove
• Vocal Cord Bleeding
• Vocal Cord Paralysis
• Vocal Cord Cancer
• Reinke’s Edema
• Muscle Tension Dysphonia
• Puberphony
• Vocal Cord Granulomas
• Spasmodic Dysphonia

If you have a problem with your voice, you can contact us through our communication channels.