Hoarseness | Vocal cord

Hoarseness

Hoarseness is a change or a disturbance of the voice. Most of the time the voice sounds rough or busy. Hoarseness is caused by a lack of mobility of the vocal cords.

This disturbs the vibration of the vocal cords produced by air and thus also the voice formation. Hoarseness can have many causes. Frequent triggers are inflammations as well as allergies which affect the vocal chords and new formations (tumors, cysts etc.)

in the larynx area. Hoarseness can also be caused by paralysis of the vocal cords or after trauma. Various chemicals as well as smoking can also lead to damage of the vocal cords in the long run and thus to hoarseness.

Swelling of the vocal cords

A swelling of the vocal cords due to accumulation of tissue fluid is also called Reinke’s edema. The tissue fluid accumulates in the space between the vocal folds (Reinke space). This often occurs when the voice is incorrectly stressed.

Smoking and exposure to dust can also lead to this. Affected persons often complain of hoarseness, coughing and, in severe cases, breathing difficulties. In order to confirm the diagnosis, a laryngoscopy can be performed in addition to the physical examination (especially of the lymph nodes).

A tissue sample can also be taken during the laryngoscopy. The therapy consists mainly of finding and fighting the cause (abstinence from smoking, sparing the voice, etc.). Logopedics can also correct an incorrect strain on the voice. If the swelling is persistent, surgical removal of the affected tissue may be considered.

Vocal cord polyps

Vocal cord polyps are benign tumors of the vocal folds. This benign tumor sits on the vocal folds and is visible, for example, by laryngoscopy. In most cases, it is a spread of the mucous membrane in response to an inflammation.

Vocal cord polyps can cause the sensation of a foreign body and in some cases also lead to hoarseness. It can also lead to a compulsion to clear the throat. The therapy of choice is the ablation of the polyp during a laryngoscopy.After ablation, a sample should be sent to the pathology department to rule out further differential diagnoses.