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Aphonia is when total loss of voice occurs, which may be sudden or gradual, but which does not usually cause pain or discomfort, nor any other symptom.
It is usually caused by environmental and psychological factors such as generalized anxiety, stress, nervousness, or social pressure but it can also be triggered by inflammation in the throat or vocal cords, allergies and irritants such as tobacco.
The treatment for this condition aims to treat what triggered it, and therefore, the time until the voice comes back can vary according to the cause, and can be from 20 to 2 weeks for complete recovery in the mildest cases, but in all cases, it is common for the voice to return completely.
Main causes
The aphonia has varied causes, among the main ones are:
- Stress;
- Anxiety;
- Inflammation in the larynx;
- Gastric reflux;
- Inflammation in the vocal cords;
- Polyps, nodules or granulomas in the larynx or vocal cords;
- The flu;
- Excessive use of voice;
- Cold;
- Allergy;
- Substances like alcohol and tobacco.
When cases of aphonia are related to inflammation, whether in the vocal cords, throat or any other region of the mouth or trachea, symptoms such as pain, swelling and difficulty swallowing are common. Check out the 7 home remedies that can accelerate the improvement of inflammation.
The improvement of aphonia usually happens within 2 days, if it is not linked to inflammation or any other physical condition such as excessive use of the voice and flu, however if this does not happen, it is important to see a general or otorhinologist, so that you can evaluation and confirmed what caused the loss of voice.
How the treatment is done
The treatment of aphonia when it is not involved with any disease and does not have a clinical cause, is done with the speech therapist, who together with the person will do exercises that stimulate the vocal cords, together it can be recommended abundant hydration and that it is not consumed very hot or very cold foods.
In cases where the aphonia is a symptom of some type of inflammation, allergy or something like polyps or nodules for example, the general practitioner will first recommend the treatment to eliminate the cause, and only then will the referral to the speech therapist be made so that voice is treated and the aphonia healed.
In addition, in some cases, where the person has some psychological disorder such as generalized anxiety or excessive irritability, for example, psychotherapy may be indicated so that problems are faced in another way and aphonia does not return.
Created by: Tua Saúde Editorial Team
Bibliography>
- NED TIJDSCHR GENEESKD. Psychogenic aphonia; an effective and rapidly treatable conversion. 1992. Available at:. Accessed on 18 Sep 2020
- SWISS MED WKLY. Psychogenic aphonia: no fixation even after a lengthy period of aphonia. 2010. Available at:. Accessed on 18 Sep 2020
- PSYCHOTHER PSYCHOSOM. Functional aphonia. A conversion symptom as defensive mechanism against anxiety. 1988. Available at:. Accessed on 18 Sep 2020
- BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY. Psychogenic dysphonia: diversity of clinical and vocal presentations of a case series. 2014. Available at:. Accessed on 18 Sep 2020