By Stephanie Steinberg, USA TODAY
People who have lost their voice for more than a few days may have more than a common case of laryngitis. And sipping all the tea, hot cocoa and soup in the world won't help make the voice come back.
A rare medical condition known as idiopathic vocal cord paresis can prevent people from speaking for weeks, or at its worst, up to nine months.
Paresis means weakness or muscle immobility. In vocal cord paresis, one or both of the vocal cords are unable to move. According to Jack Williams, an otolaryngologist from Chevy Chase, Md., who specializes in voice disorders, paresis acts the same as paralysis, but its effects are temporary.
Williams says medical experts don't know what causes vocal paresis. The most common explanation is a virus infection that inflames nerves in the larynx, or voice box. The virus is not contagious, but Williams says nobody knows what virus causes it.
Symptoms of vocal cord paresis include the inability to cough or clear the throat and hoarseness of the voice. The vocal cords have trouble closing together and releasing air, which results in a "weak, breathy voice," Williams says.
Vocal cord paresis has caused a lot of medical debate, says Lucian Sulica, an associate professor of otolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology. "There are people that insist that almost every person who's hoarse has paresis, and there are other doctors that say paresis doesn't exist," Sulica says.
Sulica says there are no statistics on the number of patients who experience paresis each year. Sulica adds that doctors have only become aware of paresis in the last 10 years.
People experiencing this condition may be prescribed anti-inflammatory medication like prednisone. In many cases, doctors will order a CT scan to make sure there are no tumors pressing on the nerve. If a tumor is found, doctors will most likely perform surgery to remove it, Williams says.
But in most situations, people are treated with vocal therapy to help make their voice stronger while waiting for it to fully return.
If patients are in desperate need of a voice, doctors can inject fat into the vocal cord, which strengthens the cord and provides short-term relief so patients can talk for a few weeks. Another option is to surgically insert a plastic implant into the vocal cord, which can help patients permanently regain their voice.
Sulica says talking is a vital part of living, and people do opt for these procedures so they can go about their everyday business.
"People need to talk to live their lives, to do their jobs and to raise their kids," he says.
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