“A sudden change in voice? It is a clear ‘voice disease’ that needs treatment.” [인터뷰] Ahn Cheol-min, an otolaryngology specialist

Otolaryngology Specialist Director Ahn Cheol-min ㅣ Source: Pranai Biology Clinic

Voice is an important means of conveying words and is one of the most important factors that determine impressions as much as face and body shape. If your voice changes or doesn’t come out properly for big or small reasons, you have no choice but to become sensitive. However, many people tend to leave voice problems alone, thinking that they will heal on their own. Voice changes and abnormalities are diseases that require treatment. I met Director Cheol-Min Ahn (Pranai Biology Clinic), an otolaryngology specialist, and talked about voice disease.

Is your voice strange? Why should it be recognized as a ‘disease’?

The human voice is a wave of air that begins when air from the lungs vibrates the vocal cords. Since this wave varies depending on the length of the neck and nose, the voice is different and diverse from person to person, just like a fingerprint. According to American psychologist Albert Mehrabian’s research, 38% of first impressions are determined by voice. Among the three factors that influence communication through language, namely information, voice, and attitude, voice influences 38%, facial expressions 5%, and attitude influences 20%, but the content of speech only accounts for 7%. said it was only At first glance, he thinks that information or knowledge will be the most important as much as we communicate to give and receive information, but unexpectedly, the voice or attitude is a much more important factor.

Director Ahn Chul-min also said, “Voice plays a role in determining not only the first impression but also the overall image of a person. . Voice is an important factor in human-to-human communication. However, if you look around, there are many cases where you do not properly recognize the problem that has occurred with your voice. Even though the voice changes or does not come out well, even though it is one of the voice disorders, it is often not recognized as a disease, so it is not treated and the disease is raised.

“Voice disorder is a phenomenon in which vocal cord abnormality, vocalization method abnormality, nerve muscle abnormality, etc. cause abnormal vocal function and change the voice heard. Yes. A husky or humming high-pitched voice means that you have had a voice disorder for a long time.”

Diagnosis by judging voice status from various angles as well as ‘three elements of sound’

Voice means when the sound generated through the human speech organ is linguistically meaningful. It is a completely different concept than sound. Therefore, when the ‘three elements of sound’, such as sound intensity (strength), pitch (high and low), and timbre, are abnormal and not appropriate for the individual’s age and gender, a voice disorder is diagnosed.
In fact, ‘the negative three elements’ is an area in which subjective judgment is bound to intervene to some extent. Therefore, there may be concerns about determining abnormality only with ‘negative three factors’. In response, director Ahn Chul-min dismissed the concerns, saying, “The judgment is scientifically analyzed through inspection equipment.” He said, “In the case of a degenerative disorder in which an adult male has a voice like a little girl, you can confirm that the pitch is abnormal by examining it using the equipment.” He added that if it deviated from the standard (normal) such as gender and age, it was judged as abnormal.

There are various tests used for voice disorders, such as vocal cord laryngoscopy, which directly observes the structure of the vocal cords and checks vocal function, and voice acoustic test, which objectively checks the voice condition heard by the ears (by analyzing the voice condition through a computer, The state of voice and the degree of disease, cause analysis, treatment method, etc. are determined through

Depending on the patient’s condition and situation, there are various methods of examining voice disorders.

Diseases vary depending on the cause.

Voice disorders differ in their appearance depending on the cause. Voice disorders are largely classified into organic voice disorders, functional voice disorders, laryngeal motor disorders, and neurological voice disorders, and the causes differ depending on the type.
The causes of organic voice disorders are diverse, such as misuse/abuse/overuse of voice, smoking, alcohol, drugs, and allergies. Among these, the most representative cause is a benign lesion of the larynx, which causes vocal cord nodules, vocal cord polyps, and vocal cord cysts, which are the most common diseases that cause voice disorders. In addition to this, malignant tumors such as laryngeal cancer and laryngopharyngeal reflux disease also belong to benign laryngeal lesions.

“Vocal nodule or polyp is a lump-shaped disease on the vocal cord mucosa when the method of producing voice is excessive or incorrect. It is the most common voice disorder disease. It is a disease in which there is an abnormality in the structure of the vocal cords. Depending on the person, if the resonating box is changed to a large or small size, the characteristics of the sound that comes out will change according to the change in the resonator box. People with a rough personality also speak rough. The vocal cords are swollen because it gives a strong shock to the vocal cords, resulting in a strong and husky voice.”

Depending on the cause of the voice disease, the disease also appears in various ways

Functional voice disorder refers to cases in which there is no organic, anatomical, or neurological cause. Structures such as breathing, vocalization, and resonance are normal, but functional problems include dystonic dysphonia and dysphonia associated with mental illness.
Laryngeal motility disorder, also called spasmodic dysphonia, is a dysphonia caused by muscle tone abnormalities localized to the larynx. It appears more often in women, tends to get worse when there is mental tension, and suffers from difficulties in daily life due to trembling and interrupted voices.
Neurological voice disorder is a voice disorder that accompanies motor speech disorder due to brain damage. It is different from aphasia, which is a symptom of impaired language comprehension and expressive ability due to acquired brain damage, and voice disorder appears due to damage to the nervous system. It may also include organic voice disorders.

Awareness of ‘voice disease’ is the beginning of voice therapy

“It is not necessary to receive voice treatment unconditionally just because you are diagnosed with a voice disorder. Depending on the patient’s condition, voice treatment or surgical treatment is performed. Since voice disorders are relatively well-treated, we recognize voice problems as a disease It is important to treat. Voice disorders do not get better on their own. Of course, in the case of vocal cord nodules, in the early stages of vocal cord nodule, there are cases where it gets better on its own by not talking as much as possible, resting, and avoiding caffeine, smoking, fine dust, etc. However, other voice disorders The longer you leave it, the longer it will be cured. Since voice disorders have a high cure rate, it is good to get tested and treated early when voice changes occur.”

Director Ahn Cheol-min emphasized, “Voice therapy that normalizes the function of the vocal cords and enables normal voice production is the most basic treatment for voice diseases.” did.

However, it is not easy to find a normal voice abnormality and estimate when to visit a hospital. Are there any steps that require voice therapy? Director Ahn said, “There is no stage that requires voice therapy, but I am satisfied with my voice. If you don’t like it, it’s better to go to the hospital.”

Voice therapy has different treatment (rehabilitation) methods depending on the cause. Vocal cord nodules, vocal cord cysts, and myotonic dysphonia caused by overuse of the vocal cords are trained to relax the vocal cords so that they can be softly touched. On the other hand, hypofunctional voice disorders include poor vocal cord contact, such as geriatric laryngeal or vocal cord paralysis. In this case, treatment is focused on training that strengthens vocal cord internal force so that vocal contact can occur.
In addition, voice therapy varies depending on the patient’s age and occupation, and whether or not surgical treatment is determined depending on the voice specialist, occupation that requires continued use of the voice, and medications taken.

Efforts to save your voice are the best prevention

Director Chul-Min Ahn said, “If you want to prevent voice disorders, it is important not to speak louder or higher than your ability in consideration of your voice, and it is necessary to make a habit of speaking comfortably and quietly. “It’s a very bad vocal habit to make small sounds or whispers, so you have to be careful.” In addition, he advised, “Avoid caffeine intake and smoking so that the larynx does not become dry, drink enough water, and avoid clearing the cough to spit out phlegm.”

The voice reflects the person’s inner and outer disposition and expression. If you want a good voice, it’s good to make a soft voice with a bright expression and a smile. In addition, even if there is no voice disorder, it is necessary to pay attention to the voice and make efforts to save it steadily.

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