Vocal Misuse and Abuse
Improper or poor speaking technique is caused from speaking at an abnormally or uncomfortable pitch, either too high or too low, and leads to hoarseness and a variety of other voice problems.
Examples of this condition are when young adult females, in a work environment, consciously or subconsciously choose to speak at a lower than appropriate pitch and with a heavy voice.
Percussive speaking, a voice too loud or focusing on the first syllable of each word, is another improper speaking technique that may result in injury or trauma to the vocal cords and muscles causing “vocal fatigue”.
Other factors leading to improper speaking technique include insufficient or improper breathing while talking, specifically breathing from the shoulders or neck area instead of from the lower chest or abdominal area. The consequence of this practice is increased tension in the throat and neck muscles, which can cause hoarseness and a variety of symptoms, especially pain and fatigue associated with talking. Voice problems can also occur from using your voice in an unnatural position, such as talking on the phone cradled to your shoulder. This requires excessive tension in the neck and laryngeal muscles, which changes the speaking technique and may result in a voice problem.
Voice and Swallowing
Vocal cord lesions- Vocal cord paresis/paralysis
- Presbyphonia (Aging voice)
- Spasmodic Dysphonia
- Professional Voice
- Vocal cord cancer
- Throat cancer
- Vocal Misuse and Abuse
- Laryngitis
- Swallowing difficulty (Dysphagia)
- Pain with swallowing (Odynophagia)
- Laryngopharyngeal / Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Zenker’s Diverticulum
- Cough
- Parkinson’s Disease related voice disorder
