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.

Now it is true that a viral laryngitis can cause a paralyzed vocal cord, but they should not be considered synonymous.

Patients with a paralyzed vocal cord have a very breathy sounding weak voice and a weak cough. They may also suffer from aspiration where liquids/foods go down the wrong way more easily than normal.

Typically, the first way to treat a paralyzed vocal cord is voice therapy. If voice therapy does not make much improvement, surgical intervention can be considered.

Typically, a vocal cord injection is performed if the paralysis onset was within one year. After one year, an implant can be placed as the Fox News report mentioned.

Read more about paralyzed vocal cords as well as watch a video here.

Source:
Woman Gets Voice Back After Suffering From Laryngitis for 30 Years. FoxNews 12/23/11

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 therapy and if that fails, surgery if the paralysis does not resolve.

Read the story here.

Read more about voice therapy and surgical treatment of the paralyzed vocal cord.

New Webpage on the Treatment of the Paralyzed Vocal Cord (Bowed Vocal Cords Too!)

A new webpage has been created going over how paralyzed vocal cords are treated, mainly from a surgical perspective. Also included on this same webpage is treatment options for bowed vocal cords (presbylaryngeus). Surgical options covered in detail with illustrations include vocal cord medialization with injection or implantation laryngoplasty. Click here to check it out!

A video showing a vocal cord injection to medialize a paralyzed vocal cord was also created and added to our practice's YouTube channel. The video can also be viewed below.