The etymology of dysphonia leads us to dysphōnía , a word from the Greek language. The notion refers to a quantitative or qualitative alteration of phonation : that is, of the manifestation of the voice .
Dysphonia implies a certain modification of the quantity and/or quality of the voice that is not absolute, since those who are left without a voice suffer from aphonia . Those who are dysphonic usually have a hoarse voice : that is why they cannot express themselves with their usual voice and, many times, not even clearly.
The origin of dysphonia can be functional or organic. Functional dysphonia is caused by poor vocal technique or excessive effort. Organic dysphonia , on the other hand, arises from an injury that affects an organ involved in the phonation process. Laryngitis, nodules, laryngeal cancer and certain neurological diseases are the most common causes of dysphonia.
To treat this condition, it is first necessary to determine its cause. In addition, the patient's general health status must be taken into account, including their emotional condition. Treatment may include vocal reeducation, which requires identifying vocal attitudes to modify them through training.
Many times dysphonia is temporary and does not cause major complications for the person, beyond discomfort speaking. In other cases, the disorder becomes chronic or intensifies over time (as in the case of smokers who, by using tobacco, irritate and damage the vocal cords and the structures around them).
As with almost all conditions of the body, our relationship with dysphonia is divided into two well-defined plans of action: preventing it and curing it. Prevention of dysphonia is not very common, except in the daily lives of professional singers. Most people are not aware of the importance of the health of the speech system, of the risks that certain behaviors entail.
Life in big cities often pushes us to abuse our vocal cords without us knowing it : speaking in the midst of bustle or very annoying noises is harmful to our voice, but this does not seem to matter enough to us when we chat with our friends in the evening. street or on the train. As if this were not enough, the solution we usually use to get the other party to hear us is not to improve the projection of our voice, but to increase the intensity, that is, to shout.
After a long day of conversations on public roads, amid the symphony of engines and horns, dysphonia is almost inevitable, although it does not always attack us with the same intensity . We return with an irritated and inflamed throat, and with our vocal cords tired from so much demand, and sleep during the night is not enough to reverse so much abuse.
Before reaching the stage in which we cannot make a sound clearly and our family doctor refers us to a specialist to restore our throat, we can begin by avoiding the use of our voice in noisy areas as much as possible and learning to project it more correctly, so that we can generate more intensity effortlessly.
Once dysphonia has knocked on our door, we can then opt for various home treatments for an economical and minimally invasive cure. Tea with lemon and cane honey is a classic that should not be missing in these cases, and should be accompanied by absolute silence until all the discomfort disappears and we can speak clearly again.