Larynx Disorders

Your voice box, or larynx, holds your vocal cords (vocal folds). And it’s responsible for how you make sound and swallow. There are many different voice disorders or other conditions that can make your larynx stop working the way it should. Some of these include:

• Dysphagia.
• Dysphonia.
• Hoarseness.
• Laryngeal cancer.
• Laryngeal papillomatosis.
• Laryngeal stenosis (narrowing of the airway at the vocal cords).
• Laryngitis.
• Laryngomalacia.
• Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).
• Spasmodic dysphonia.
• Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD).
• Vocal cord lesions.
• Vocal cord paralysis.

What to expect at your first visit

The best way for us to learn about what’s going on with your larynx is to hear your story. So at your first visit, we’ll ask you to share it. Your provider will want to hear about:

• How you typically use your voice.
• When you first started noticing symptoms.
• What symptoms you have.
• If they’re getting worse.
• How they’ve affected you and your life.
• Your medical history.

Next, they’ll do some testing to help pinpoint what’s causing problems with your larynx. These tests may include:

Laryngoscopy

Your provider will take a look inside your throat using a thin, flexible tube with a camera on the end. This test, called laryngoscopy, can show obvious problems in your voice box and throat.

Imaging tests

You may also have imaging tests so we can take a closer look at your voice box, vocal cords and the surrounding airway and soft tissues. You might have:

• An X-ray.
• A computed tomography (CT) scan.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Laryngeal electromyography (LEMG)

This test looks at how the nerves that control the muscles in your voice box work (nerve input). We may do this if we suspect you may have vocal cord paralysis.

Tissue biopsy

We’ll take a biopsy (tissue sample) if we find any abnormal growths during these diagnostic tests. Our tissue specialists check the sample for signs of cancer and help give you an accurate diagnosis.

Meet Our Larynx Disorder Team

We use a team-based approach to care at Cleveland Clinic. We handpick different providers from different specialties based on your needs. This team will work together to craft a personalized larynx disorder care plan for you. Usually, a laryngologist (specialist in voice, airway and swallowing disorders involving the voice box and throat) or otolaryngologist leads the team, which may also include:

• Radiologists.
• Gastroenterologists.
• Surgeons.
• Nurse practitioners.
• Physician assistants.
• Speech-language pathologists.

We understand that larynx disorders can be difficult, uncomfortable and frustrating. That’s why we take the time to listen to your story and how your condition affects you. By hearing what’s going on in your words, your care team can create a treatment plan personalized to your diagnosis and needs. Depending on what’s going on, you may need a combination of therapies to start getting relief.

Rest and treatment without surgery

Some larynx disorders — mainly voice disorders — develop from overusing or straining your voice. Vocal cords can get irritated, swollen, tight or stressed. Your healthcare provider may recommend resting your voice as the first step in easing your symptoms.

We may suggest other treatments depending on your lifestyle. For example, you may benefit from reducing your stress, changing your diet or quitting smoking. We also help manage any underlying medical conditions that could worsen larynx disorders, like an infection, chronic acid reflux, allergies or anxiety.

Voice therapy

Treatment for larynx disorders often includes voice therapy. A speech-language pathologist, respiratory (breathing) therapist or voice coach guides you through special exercises. Voice therapy helps your vocal cords and voice box heal. It can improve the quality and strength of your voice and breath.

Vocal cord injections

Your doctor may recommend injections to treat swallowing difficulties or voice disorders. Some injections, such as botulinum toxin (Botox^®) can help relax voice box muscles and vocal cords. Other injections that use fat tissue, filler material or silk protein can help improve the quality of your voice.

Surgery

We offer many types of advanced surgical treatments for voice disorders. For example, you may need laser surgery to treat vocal cord growths. Or nerve repair surgery to fix the nerves that control your voice box’s movement.

We also offer a surgery called supraglottoplasty to open airway passages in your upper larynx and improve your breathing, sleeping and eating.

Taking the Next Step

You probably don’t think too much about your voice box until you start having problems. And when you do, it can quickly affect your quality of life and independence. Larynx disorder symptoms can keep you from breathing, eating and communicating like you usually do. But you don’t have to live with it. Your care team will work together to find the right treatments to help make everyday things like breathing, swallowing or talking as easy as possible.