HOARSENESS: DESCRIPTION AND POSSIBLE MEDICAL PROBLEMS
We all get hoarse from time to time. Sometimes it’s due to over-enthusiastic cheering at a sporting event; at others it’s due to talking too much. Hoarseness can also result from a cold, perhaps accompanied by a sore throat. Whatever the cause, hoarseness occurs when the larynx— which contains the vocal cords—becomes irritated and inflamed, a condition that is known as laryngitis.
Whenever I hear hoarseness in a patient’s voice, I’ll immediately suspect he or she is a smoker. I always ask, “How many cigarettes do you smoke?” It always amazes my patients that I know they smoke. In turn, I’m surprised that they’re not aware of their smoker’s voice. From then on, at every checkup I’ll know to look for the possibility of polyps— abnormal growths that are common in smokers—on their larynxes.
For people who do not smoke but are frequently hoarse nonetheless, the cause is usually raising the voice or talking loudly. Like smokers, people who talk loudly or who frequently shout or scream are prone to developing polyps on the larynx.
While some folks may joke that the periodic bouts of laryngitis some people have finally allow others to get a word in edgewise, the fact is that persistent hoarseness and/or laryngitis may in fact be an indication of a more serious disease, such as polyps or a tumor on the larynx or in the lung.
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