Outlines how to get your voice back when you have lost it due to infection, a cold, or over-use; with home remedies and solutions plus what to avoid!
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Pain when swallowing, dry cough and only a hoarse croak comes out of the throat. These symptoms are mostly caused by typical cold viruses, which lead to inflammation of the larynx. We outlines what other causes are behind it, how the disease is treated and how to get your voice back.
The loss of your voice is commonly referred to as laryngitis, and this can be caused by several things. They casue the lining of the larynx and vocal cords to become inflamed. This often happens with a respiratory infection – such as a cold – or when the larynx is severely irritated, such as with over-use of from external factors. It can last for several weeks – and sometimes it becomes chronic.
Causes of losing your voice and hoarseness
Viruses and bacteria
Mostly the reason is an infection of the respiratory tract with viruses. Possible pathogens are, for example, parainfluenza and influenza viruses (flu viruses), rhino (cold viruses) and adenoviruses. In addition, bacteria, especially streptococci, can subsequently settle on the attacked mucous membranes.
Heavily used vocal cords
People like singers or teachers who use their voices a lot are more likely to get laryngitis. The vocal apparatus is then irritated and overwhelmed.
Irritating air
People who very often inhale dry air, dust, chemical vapors or irritating pollutants such as cigarette smoke can also quickly develop laryngitis.
Allergies
Other diseases can also cause laryngitis. For example, those who have a chronically blocked nose due to allergies, almost only breathe through the mouth and thus promote a throat and larynx infection. This also applies to chronic sinusitis.
Crooked nasal septum
A bent nasal septum also makes breathing difficult . It can therefore also promote laryngitis.
Chronic heartburn (reflux disease)
In people with reflux disease , gastric juice repeatedly gets into the esophagus – this can also cause the larynx to become inflamed.
How to get your voice back quickly
Losing your voice with acute laryngitis as a result of a viral infection heals by itself after conservative therapy of the underlying disease; bacterial infections may require antibiotics.
Otherwise: stay calm – in the truest sense of the word. Because anyone who is affected by a laryngitis should give their voice a break until it has completely healed and take it easy from the start. Speaking in a whisper is counterproductive. If you absolutely have to talk, then only do it in a relaxed voice. You should also avoid constant throat clearing – this only irritates the vocal cords even more.
People who make heavy demands on their voice due to their professional activity must be particularly careful: it is better to wait a few days longer than to expose the voice to extreme stress too early – the recovery process can take up to two weeks.
With chronic laryngitis, the triggering factors must be identified and avoided in the future.
Home Remedies
To get rid of laryngitis, you can do a lot to heal yourself. If you are a smoker, the first thing to do now is to stop using nicotine. Expectorant and anti-inflammatory drugs may be used for relief. In addition, moisture is the be-all and end-all. Patients who are physically well apart from the hoarseness can visit the steam sauna. Everyone else is advised to inhale with salt water – this is practical and can be done at home in minutes.
To relieve the dry feeling in the throat, you can suck candy or drink tea. All herbal teas are suitable for this. Except chamomile , because this also dries out the mucous membranes.
Go easy on your voice: Rule number one for hoarseness is: speak as little as possible and spare your voice for a few days.- DO NOT whisper: If you have to speak, it is better not to whisper. Whispering strains the vocal folds, which are affected by hoarseness, more than talking quietly. Clearing your throat also has a negative effect on the hoarse voice.
- Drink plenty of fluids: If the vocal cords are already damaged, plenty of fluids will help. It is best to drink two and a half liters a day. Tap water and lukewarm herbal teas are ideal. Broths and soups also strengthen the immune system and keep the mucous membranes supple.
Our tip:
A teaspoon of honey in tea is not only delicious, it also has a soothing effect on the symptoms.
- Suck throat lozenges: If you are hoarse, we recommend sucking throat lozenges with sage, Emser salt or Icelandic moss. Sharp cough drops with menthol, for example, are not suitable. The essential oils contained are “too hot” and harmful to the sensitive vocal organs.
- Refrain from nicotine and alcohol: Smoking or passive smoking are taboo if you are hoarse. Alcohol consumption is also harmful to voice health.
- Get some fresh air: Fresh air and exercise are considered a panacea. A short walk in the open air is therefore a tried and tested home remedy even for hoarseness. However, you should avoid vigorous physical exertion.
- Keep your neck area warm: wear a scarf and use neck wraps. Wraps with potatoes, quark or onions have a soothing effect on the inner throat.
- Inhale water vapor: As an active healing agent, inhaling water vapor is recommended to keep your airways moist. You can add table salt, sage or chamomile to the water.
- Take steam baths: warm steam baths with chamomile or brine salts also have a positive effect on your health and clear the airways.
Prevent laryngitis
Since laryngitis often occurs in connection with colds, it makes sense to prevent these flu-like infections. That means: make your immune system strong. A balanced, healthy and vitamin-rich diet brings the immune system into full swing. Just like exercise, fresh air, adequate sleep, little stress, abstaining from nicotine and moderate alcohol consumption.
Those who observe these measures are best prepared for infection – especially if there is a higher risk of it in winter. What if the cold caught you anyway? Once you have a cold, you should preventively protect your voice, drink a lot and make sure that the mucous membranes do not dry out. Then the larynx can be prevented in the best case.
Is laryngitis contagious?
If an infection with viruses and / or bacteria is the cause of the laryngitis, it can be quite contagious. Influenza viruses spread, for example, by ejecting them in the form of tiny droplets when speaking or coughing and breathing them in again by other people.
Anyone who is infected can then just get a cold or the flu without these spreading to the larynx. How strong and how long a laryngitis is contagious varies depending on the pathogen.
When to see a doctor
If symptoms persist or get worse, don’t wait too long. It is important that a hoarseness of three weeks should not be exceeded. Then you should actually consult an ENT specialist, because sometimes more serious illnesses can be behind it.
It is very important if a laryngitis suddenly leads to breathing difficulties that you see an ENT colleague very quickly, because other diseases, for example in the area of the epiglottis or the larynx structures, can narrow the airway. That could be dangerous.
Doctors differentiate between two forms of laryngitis, depending on the duration:
Acute laryngitis
Acute laryngitis is usually triggered by an infection with viruses or bacteria. Those affected usually feel sick for a few days, have a sore throat, cough and, most of all, are hoarse – sometimes their voice no longer works at all. The acute laryngitis usually heals without consequences.
Chronic laryngitis
Chronic laryngitis lasts longer than three weeks. It can develop from acute laryngitis that has not healed, but also when the larynx and vocal cords are permanently stressed. Sometimes other conditions (such as gastric reflux disease) cause chronic laryngitis as well.
In addition to normal laryngitis, two other special forms are possible that play a role in children:
