Misleading FoxNews Report: Laryngitis for 30 Years

On Dec 23, 2011, Fox News reported on a woman who supposedly had laryngitis for 30 years. The story reported that the woman had a viral URI in 1982 which resulted in laryngitis and a paralyzed vocal cord . What people should be aware of is that a paralyzed vocal cord is NOT laryngitis. Laryngitis is an infection of the larynx or voicebox. Stating that a paralyzed vocal cord is akin to laryngitis is like claiming a person who has a paralyzed arm/leg from a stroke has an arm/leg infection…

1/02/2012 1

Continue Reading

Miley Cyrus "I Cut My Uvula"! ...NOT!

I was recently made aware of this video Miley Cyrus made in January 2009 when she reported that she cut her uvula (according to a nurse) after swallowing a slippery piece of chicken causing her voice to sound quite hoarse. Watch the video here : However, based on how her voice sounds, I seriously doubt that her hoarseness is due to a cut uvula. When the uvula gets cut, or swollen, or gets injured one way or another, it would cause her voice to sound muffled... NOT raspy like her voice sound…

2/06/2011 1

Continue Reading

Voice Problems Trouble Teachers

A hoarse voice is an endemic problem in professions who use their voices a lot including preachers, journalists, lawyers, and especially teachers. In the general population, 1 in 4 report a voice problem at some point in their life. Among teachers, 47 percent report some degree of voice abnormality on any given day ; 20 percent of teachers report missing work due to voice problems, and 1-in-10 teachers has been forced to leave the profession by voice woes. Even in Fauquier County, every ye…

9/04/2010 1

Continue Reading

USA Today: Article on Vocal Cord Paralysis Causing Breathy Voice

On June 1, 2010 USA Today published a story titled " Lost your voice? It could be vocal cord paresis ." The story discusses how vocal cord paralysis can cause a breathy type of hoarse voice. The paralysis, if idiopathic, is suspected to be caused by a virus, just like Bell's Palsy causes a facial paralysis or a bad cold can cause a loss of smell. Listen to what a breathy voice sounds like due to vocal cord paralysis  here . Treatment for this rare condition include voice ther…

6/02/2010 0

Continue Reading

TV Show "Glee" Character Rachel Has Laryngitis? Tonsillitis?

On May 11, 2010, Glee aired its eighteenth episode titled "Laryngitis". In this episode, Rachel suffered from a lost voice which was attributed to tonsillitis or is it laryngitis . It was a bit confusing as it would seem her lost voice was attributable to laryngitis (title of the episode), but than she was diagnosed with tonsillitis by the TV doctor which really has nothing to do with laryngitis. I guess it is possible that she had TWO conditions going on at the same time even tho…

5/12/2010 1

Continue Reading

New Video Example of Pediatric Vocal Cord Nodules

A new video has been uploaded of a 5 years old child with a raspy voice due to vocal cord nodules. Click here to view.

12/11/2008 0

Continue Reading

New Video Example of a Glottic Mass Causing a Weak Voice

A new video of a 17 years old female with a weak and dampened voice due to a large glottic mass has been posted. The glottic mass (granulation tissue) is located at the anterior or front part of the voicebox right between the vocal cords. This mass prevents the vocal cords from coming together precisely and also dampens the vocal cord vibrations from mass effect resulting in her weak voice. When she tries to phonate, she exhibits a supraglottic squeeze as her voicebox muscles tries (in vain) …

7/16/2008 0

Continue Reading

New Video Example of Smoker's Vocal Cord Polyps

A new video and audio of a female patient with smoker's vocal cord polyps has been posted to our website. Check it out here .

6/19/2008 0

Continue Reading