A Voice Apart

Muscle tension dysphonia is a term used to define significant change in the sound of one’s voice - usually due to the muscle strain in the neck. Hoarseness or discomfort via excessive muscle tension in and around the voice box, can be indicating signs of the beginning stages of this nasty voice disorder - MTD. Needless to say, muscle tension dysphonia disorder inhibits the sufferer from using their natural voice. MTD can easily develop, for example; due to some infectious diseases like laryngitis and can also remain to be even after the swelling of the vocal cords subsided. It can also be caused by stress, therefore potentially causing co-occurring voice problems. However, this kind of dysphonia may occur on its own, identified as primary MTD - or it may occur as a result of other underlying disorders, known as secondary MTD. What are the symptoms of this kind of dysphonia? Muscle tension dysphonia generally causes the voice to sound rough, hoarse, raspy, weak, breathy...

When the person with a voice disorder is trying to live a (so to speak) normal life, he/she is definitely experiencing some difficulties in communication with others; nevertheless, at their work place and even in their family lives. They are usually very frustrated with their voice which is not, by far, sounding the same as before. They are also not very well understood and are, quite often, being asked several times to repeat or to reiterate what they were trying to say. That makes those people with voice disorders understandably very irritable and overall, very emotional. They feel like they are handicapped (in a manner of speaking), and understandably so. Some of them are so disillusioned that they carry with them a sign, advising the strangers that they have difficulty to speak. Others who have lost the hope to regain a normal voice are even starting to learn sign language.  How sad is that?  A lot of those people have lost hope with respect of living th...