Our vocal apparatus performs an important communicative function: thanks to our voice, we communicate with others, convey important information to them, and some people associate the ability to speak or sing with their professional activities.
The state when the voice goes down or disappears cannot be called pleasant or comfortable. The problem of the missing voice is especially acute for those who have chosen the so-called speech profession: teachers, singers, announcers, etc.: along with the missing voice comes temporary disability. Therefore, a person’s desire to urgently restore his vocal cords is quite logical.
In medicine, a condition where the voice is lost or diminished is called aphonia.
There are many reasons for aphonia, and they are not always associated with a cold, as is commonly believed. Accordingly, approaches to treating a dry voice also differ.
Why does the voice shrink? What are the causes of hoarse vocal cords? What quickly restores a dry voice? How to urgently restore the ability to fully speak or sing? Quick voice restoration is the topic of our new article.
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How does our vocal apparatus work?
Before we deal with the reasons why our voice disappears or shrinks, we need to understand how our vocal apparatus works. The air leaving the lungs as you exhale encounters certain obstacles on its way and collides with them, thereby leading to the emergence of sound vibrations. If nothing interfered with the air, sounds would not be formed, which means we would not be able to speak.
Such a natural obstacle to air flow is the larynx, or rather the vocal cords located on it. The vocal cords are folds in the lining of the larynx. There is a gap between them. When a person is silent, the gap is wide open. It narrows when talking or singing. The air passing through the ligaments causes them to rapidly oscillate and vibrate. This is how a sound wave arises and a voice is born. It is quite logical that if the voice disappears or shrinks, then the problem is related to the vocal cords and a malfunction of the vocal apparatus.
2. Symptoms of the disease
Typically, the following list of symptoms may indicate voice problems:
- Low, raspy or rough voice;
- The voice disappears (loss of voice), it is impossible to speak loudly or for a long time;
- Hoarseness lasting more than 2-3 weeks;
- Discomfort during swallowing and breathing, especially in combination with ear pain;
- cough or trouble breathing while swallowing;
- Feeling like you have a “lump in your throat.”
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Why does my voice disappear and go silent?
Most people associate the condition when the voice disappears and decreases exclusively with a cold. But only a fraction of diagnosed cases are associated with colds. In reality, there are many more reasons why the ability to speak normally is lost, and they are not always associated with infection or ENT diseases.
Let's figure out why the voice shrinks or disappears. It is very important to correctly determine the cause of the malfunction of the vocal cords. This directly determines how you will need to recover.
- Infectious diseases.
- Overstrain of the vocal cords.
- Neoplasms.
- Problems with the thyroid gland.
- Nervous stress.
- Allergy.
- Bad habits.
Most often, the ligaments shrink due to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx - laryngitis. With laryngitis, the ligaments swell and lose their ability to vibrate quickly. Aphonia can also be triggered by a cold, pharyngitis, sore throat, tracheitis and other inflammatory processes in the laryngopharynx. When the ability to speak fully is lost due to infection, the patient usually also complains of a sore throat. The “culprits” of the malfunction of the ligaments in these cases are viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Very often the voice shrinks and disappears due to increased load on the ligaments. This problem is often faced by representatives of speech professions, for whom the vocal cords are a full-fledged working instrument. Such professions include singers, teachers, announcers, tour guides, call center operators, and sales managers. Their ability to speak is lost due to overstrain of the ligaments, which inevitably leads to aphonia. For such patients, quickly restoring the functioning of the vocal apparatus is a priority! But don’t think that only professionals have a voice that shrinks and disappears. It’s enough to have a good time at karaoke with friends or scream a lot at the concert of your favorite performer, and in the morning you are guaranteed to feel what it’s like to have shrunken vocal cords.
Sometimes the ability to speak normally disappears, seemingly for no apparent reason: there is no cold, the vocal apparatus has not been overstrained, or has not sat down from shouting or a long conversation. In order to quickly restore your voice in this case, you need to urgently consult an otolaryngologist. Quite often, aphonia is a consequence of the appearance of laryngeal tumors. The ability to speak loudly, by the way, disappears not only with tumors of the larynx, but also with neoplasms of the thyroid gland or lung area. And how quickly you visit an ENT doctor and how urgently you diagnose the problem depends on how quickly you recover!
Friends! Timely and correct treatment will ensure you a speedy recovery!
Diseases of the thyroid gland can provoke the appearance of chronic laryngitis. This condition must be treated urgently and quickly. Moreover, restoration of the vocal apparatus must begin with treatment of the underlying disease. High-quality and quick treatment of diseases of the endocrine system will restore the sonority of speech.
How often do we hear the phrase: “All problems come from nerves.” And there is undoubtedly some truth here. If a person spends a long time in conditions of constant stress, peace disappears, full sleep disappears, if he has to constantly experience nervous overstrain, then the body can react to this with the appearance of aphonia. The only way out in this situation is to urgently restore mental balance and calm the nervous system. In this case, you need to recover not only with the help of an ENT doctor, but also with the help of a good neurologist or psychologist.
The larynx is quite susceptible to irritants. Upon contact with allergens, swelling of the larynx occurs, which leads to the ligaments shrinking and the ability to speak loudly and sonorously is lost. To urgently restore the previous healthy state of the larynx, it is necessary to eliminate contact with the allergen and urgently consult an allergist.
Smoking is a very common cause of aphonia. All harmful substances that are part of a cigarette have a detrimental effect on the larynx. How to recover in this case? There is no magic pill. A person simply sits down, thinks carefully about his condition and urgently makes the only right decision - not to smoke anymore! A lot of patients subsequently leave their reviews: “I restored my vocal cords as soon as I quit smoking.” All in your hands!
As we can see, there are many reasons why ligaments shrink. To recover quickly, you must urgently consult a doctor to determine the cause of aphonia.
An ENT doctor is responsible for quickly restoring the functioning of the vocal apparatus. Sometimes doctors of related specialties join him.
Diagnostics
The appearance of hoarseness requires an immediate visit to an otolaryngologist to determine the cause of the dysphonic disorder. If laryngeal diseases are excluded, in-depth diagnostics may be required with the involvement of other specialists: endocrinologist, neurologist, oncologist.
- Endoscopy.
An instrumental examination begins with laryngoscopy - this makes it possible to detect inflammatory changes in the mucous membrane, the presence of neoplasms, and foreign bodies. In order to assess the function of the vocal folds, the study is supplemented with stroboscopy. If the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract are involved in the pathological process, bronchoscopy and endoscopy are performed. - EPI methods.
Electrophysiological diagnostics are indicated for dysfunction of the vocal apparatus caused by neuromuscular disorders. Electroglottography and electromyography are performed. EPI allows you to assess the motor and contractile function of the laryngeal muscles. - X-ray examination.
X-ray diagnostics are mainly required to visualize space-occupying lesions in the neck and chest cavity. If oncological processes causing hoarseness are suspected, X-ray of the lungs, CT of the larynx, and MRI of the mediastinum are prescribed. - Sonography.
To exclude compression of nerve structures by enlarged lymph nodes and tumor conglomerates, an ultrasound scan of the thyroid gland and mediastinal organs is performed. If necessary, a puncture biopsy of detected tumors is performed under ultrasound navigation.
Endoscopy of the larynx
How to recover from a dry voice? Treatment methods
Competent treatment tactics largely depend on the cause of aphonia. If aphonia occurs against the background of infectious diseases, the ENT doctor will prescribe antibacterial or antiviral drugs, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic agents; will prescribe gargles, inhalations, and physiotherapeutic procedures.
If the problem arose as a result of a long conversation, shouting, or due to the costs of the profession, a phoniatrist will help you recover. He will offer an effective treatment regimen and show you a number of exercises, the implementation of which will help you avoid similar problems in the future. Very often, professional singers resort to the services of a phoniatrist to recover. But a consultation would not be superfluous for those employees who are forced to talk for a long time and a lot in the course of their activities.
In other cases, you may need to consult related specialists - an endocrinologist, neurologist, oncologist, etc.
Regardless of what caused the aphonia, there are a number of general recommendations that must be followed in order to recover quickly:
- Have a day of silence when you speak to a minimum;
- don't whisper;
- drink more warm liquids (teas, compotes, fruit drinks);
- humidify the indoor air;
- adjust your diet: no hard, spicy or hot foods, carbonated drinks, alcoholic drinks and coffee;
- give up bad habits.
Aphonia requires mandatory treatment! Therefore, do not delay your visit to the otolaryngologist.
Do adults need this?
Speech muscles are the basis of our speech, the key to its quality, attractiveness, and the basis for the ability to exert influence with words. Few people want to listen to a person who has a lisp, burr or stutter. All these problems are in our mouths, and let such a literal statement not scare anyone. After all, a person who cannot speak fully and beautifully suffers from poor muscle development. For adults, this problem will become especially acute if the choice of profession falls on a teacher, announcer, actor, or marketer.
Dreams of becoming a successful leader will fade into oblivion if your speech is incoherent and unattractive.
Healing herbs
If you need to find a way to restore a broken voice at home, then it’s definitely worth considering traditional medicine methods.
There are several herbs and plants that have long been used to treat ligaments:
- Tatarnik. Restores soft tissues, eliminates swelling and kills harmful microflora. To treat the larynx, you need to pour one tablespoon of this plant with boiling water (500 ml) and leave for 2-3 hours. The finished product is taken once for 5-6 days. You need to drink one glass of infusion daily, without haste, taking small sips. After taking tartar, you should rinse your throat and mouth with a small amount of olive oil.
- Lungwort. This plant contains saponins and tannins, which moisturize and soften ligaments. The use of lungwort infusion gives an anti-inflammatory, regenerative and antimicrobial effect. To prepare the product, you need to pour 15 g of dry crushed herbs into a thermos or porcelain teapot and pour 500 g of boiling water. After an hour and a half, the infusion should be filtered and then taken 150 g three times a day half an hour before meals. This treatment lasts 10 days.
- Dill. You can get a noticeable restorative effect by inhaling the vapors of this plant. For the procedure, you need to put the plant in a porcelain teapot and pour 500 g of boiling water. You need to inhale the vapors through the spout of the kettle when the broth has cooled to 55 degrees. The result is an inhalation effect. You can repeat the procedure twice a day for 5 days.
- Althea. It is used as an infusion, for the preparation of which you need to pour a glass of boiling water over a tablespoon of herbs. The product is infused for 30 minutes and taken every 2.5 hours throughout the day.
- Bedrenets. Used as a tincture. To prepare it, you need to place 15 g of plant root in 50 ml of vodka or homemade moonshine. The product is infused for 3 weeks, after which it is taken three times a day, 15 drops. The course lasts from a week to two.
It must be remembered that all tinctures are prepared and stored in a cool, dry place.
Gymnastics
One of the simplest answers to the question of how to restore your voice at home is a light massage of the larynx. It is performed simply: circular movements are made from top to bottom with two fingers. This will improve blood circulation in the ligament area.
After the massage, you can use the Strelnikova method - another treatment method that should be used if a woman has lost her voice. What to do and how to restore ligaments with this therapy?
To begin, you need to lie on your back and then inhale, engaging your stomach. Afterwards, breathing is held for a short period of time. The exercise ends with a slow exhalation, during which the letter “s” is pronounced. These steps must be repeated for 5 minutes.
Then you need to change the pronounced sound to “z” and “sh”.
This treatment deserves the attention of everyone who does not know how to restore their voice after stress or strain on the ligaments. In this case, you need to be prepared for such a side effect of exercise as dizziness.
Carrot broth
When you need to quickly decide how to restore a shrunken voice, you should use carrots. To prepare the remedy, you need to clean three of these plants, place them in a saucepan with 1 liter of milk and cook until fully prepared.
The milk is then filtered and drunk warm throughout the day. While the ligaments are being restored, you must avoid drinks that contain caffeine.
To consolidate the therapeutic effect, you can use another recipe. Freshly squeezed carrot juice is diluted in warm milk - ratio 3:1. You need to drink 130 g of this product three times a day.
Gogol-mogol
For this product you will need the following products:
- Honey or sugar - 2 tbsp. l.
- Chicken eggs - 2 pcs.
- Milk - 100 ml.
You need to separate the yolks, add honey to them and beat with a mixer. After this, heated milk is poured into the resulting mixture. The whites are whipped with sugar until they form a strong foam and are added to the drink. This eggnog should be drunk warm.
If you want to enrich the taste of the drink, you can add a little orange juice, rum or cognac.
Medicines
When it is unclear how to restore a broken voice, but quick results are needed, it is better to turn to proven drugs.
We are talking about such means as:
- "Septolete."
- "Antiangin."
- "Lizobakt".
- "Faryngosept".
- "Strepsils".
- "Inhalipt."
- "Kameton."
Their main effect is the neutralization of infection and discomfort resulting from the development of the disease.
If the cause of voice loss is laryngitis, then you should not hesitate to take medications, otherwise the disease may become severe. One of the suitable pharmaceutical products in this case is Homeovox.
The first thing you should think about if you lose your voice is how to quickly restore (medication, rest) the cords. But drugs for treatment must be chosen wisely. It is important not to buy pharmaceutical products that have a vasoconstrictor effect, as this can lead to excessive dryness of the ligaments.
Inhalations
If you are not allergic to vapors of essential oils, then they should be actively used. After such inhalations, the immune system is strengthened and inflammation of the vocal cords is relieved. For one procedure, a few drops of oil and a glass of hot water will be enough. To get a lasting effect, you need to breathe in steam 3-4 times a day.
To treat the vocal cords with steam, you can use not only essential oils, but also medicinal herbs and pharmaceuticals. In the case of pharmaceutical products, it is better to use a nebulizer - a special device for high-quality spraying of medicinal products.
It is important to remember that inhalations should not be used for laryngitis in the acute stage.
