Hoarseness, voice loss, or difficulty with using your voice can be incredibly upsetting and disruptive to both your personal and professional life. In general, any voice problem lasting more than one week should undergo a full evaluation by an ear, nose, and throat surgeon specializing in treatment of voice disorders. At Beach Cities ENTS in Torrance, California, the board-certified team of physicians has years of experience determining the cause of voice problems and developing customized treatments to restore your voice. To schedule an appointment, call the South Bay office today.
Any condition which affects the vibration of the vocal cords or the muscles and nerves which carefully control the movement of the vocal cords can cause a voice disorder. Voice disorders can range in severity, and can cause symptoms ranging from subtle changes in the sound of your voice that only you notice, to severe changes in the voice making your voice barely recognizable or understandable to others.
Problems with your vocal cords can develop due to physical changes in the cords, dysfunctional nerves or muscles, or straining your voice.
The following are a few of the most common causes of voice disorders.
You can strain the vocal cords from too much talking or shouting. Smoking, frequent coughing, or clearing your voice also stresses the vocal cords. Any type of voice misuse can lead to calluses or irritation on the vocal cords, which in turn causes a voice disorder.
The exceptional team at Beach Cities ENTS specializes in treating elite singers, actors, lawyers, teachers, and other professional voice uses and vocal performers who develop a voice disorder.
After taking a detailed voice-related medical history, the team at Beach Cities ENTS will use an advanced technology known as high-definition video stroboscopy to visualize the vocal cords in detail to help determine the cause of your voice disorder.
Hoarseness is a generic term that describes the different changes of a voice disorder. You may notice that your voice sounds:
Some patients feel like they have a lump in their throat when they swallow or find that it’s painful when they talk.
After taking a detailed voice-related medical history, the team at Beach Cities ENTS will use an advanced technology known as high-definition video stroboscopy to visualize the vocal cords in detail to help determine the cause of your voice disorder. A detailed analysis of the sound of your voice is also done as a part of your examination.
A variety of treatments are available, depending on the cause of your voice disorder. The following are only a few examples.
In some cases, such as polyps, nodules, cysts, or cancerous or noncancerous lesions of the vocal cords, or in cases of longstanding vocal cord paralysis or weakness of the vocal cords, your doctor at Beach Cities ENTS may recommend a surgical treatment to improve your voice. Surgical treatments of the vocal cords include:
To get expert help for a voice disorder, call Beach Cities ENTS today or schedule an appointment online.
