Voice



Voice disorder: A voice disorder is characterized by the abnormal production and/or absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration, which is inappropriate for an individual's age and/or sex.


If you have a voice disorder, you may sound:

  •  hoarse or breathy
  •  like you are talking out of your nose, called hypernasality
  •  like you have a cold and are stuffed up, called hyponasality
  •  like your voice is too high or too low, called a pitch problem
  •  like you are talking too loudly or too softly.

Voice disorders may be caused by:

  •  growths like calluses on the vocal cords, called nodules
  •  swelling or bumps like blisters on the vocal cords, called polyps
  •  vocal cord paralysis where one or both cords do not move
  •  vocal cords shutting when they should open, caused by paradoxical vocal fold movement
  •  a condition called spasmodic dysphonia that causes a jerky or tight sounding voice that sometimes sound fine

You may develop a voice disorder because of: 

  • allergies
  • large tonsils or adenoids 
  • smoking
  • illnesses, like respiratory infections
  • poor voice habits

(ASHA, 2014) 

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