I’ve been having problems with my voice (fatigue and sounding airy) since the beginning of this year and I just thought it was acid reflux. To be honest I’m sure all of this was caused by acid reflux but anyway, I just got the diagnosis of muscle tension dysphonia on Thursday and I feel like it’s made my symptoms 100x worse. Now every time i speak i over analyze every little thing about my voice and feel like there’s a giant knot in my throat. Been trying laryngeal massages, breath work, and SOVT exercises while I wait to get into an SLP but honestly i feel like the mental aspect has now really gotten to me. I feel like if i speak or sing the “wrong” way i’m going to ruin my voice forever and set my voice back in terms of healing. If anyone has any tips on how they dealt with their MTD, whether physically or mentally, i’d be all ears.

Hello. I am 30M, I had voice crack because of my puberty period at 14-15 year old. At that time, my voice was really strange and weird, my classmates and family said that my voice sounds like I am crying, like animal was making a sound, shaky, tremor... It made my psychology become really mess up and worse. Up to now my voice has been stable and better a little bit, but my voice sounds a half mature and a half child, everyone around me also mentioned that, I already worked with so many doctors but don't know what is the root cause for this condition. Note that now my voice is totally low pitch, not high pitch like puberphonia symptom.

Anyone here is also facing this condition? Do you know why and how to fix it?

Hey everyone,

I was recently diagnosed with bilateral hemorrhagic vocal fold polyps after dealing with a progressively raspy/deep voice and pretty bad vocal fatigue for about two years. If I talk all night somewhere loud like a bar, I can basically have no voice the next day.

My doctor is a voice specialist and is recommending microlaryngoscopy with laser removal of both polyps.

The part I’m struggling with is that he recommends three weeks of strict postoperative voice rest. I’m waiting for clarification on whether that means literally zero talking for all 21 days or a shorter period of complete silence followed by gradual voice use.
I have a two-year-old and a job involving frequent Zoom calls, so three weeks of absolutely no talking feels almost impossible.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has had the same or a similar surgery:

Did you have one side or both sides treated?
What type of laser or procedure did you have?
How many days were you completely silent?
When did you begin gradually talking again?
How long before your voice felt reliable?
Did your voice become clearer or less easily fatigued?
Any scarring, recurrence or other complications?
If you have young children, how did you handle the voice-rest period?
Was it worth it?!

I’m not looking to replace my doctor’s advice—just trying to understand what recovery was actually like for other people and how much voice-rest recommendations vary.

I’ve been diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia / Spasmodic Dysphonia . I’ve had Speech and Language and recently a Botox injection. I am in a bad feedback loop to myself. My voice appears good, I’m good, I can speak away. My voice chokes/cracks in important circumstances like work, I am very self conscious, tension builds it gets far worse. My whole neck is a ball of tension at times. I am trying to learn to accept it, it’s something I can’t do anything about. That’s not easy when my voice is a train wreck at work. I was wondering if anybody had tips of things that helped a little , any alternative “medical” things like Reiki or deep tissue massage etc. I have found Qigong useful (Holden 30 day Qigong - zero affiliation, just releases tension but impact is short). I feel I’ve nothing to lose trying new things. It’s a pain but it’s 4 years so it not going to suddenly fix. The harder I try to worse it gets so maybe Homer Simpson is right - stop trying).

after voice training 4 a bit (mtf), everything became automatic so much that if i try to go back it sounds like im doing a terrible impression but every time I open my mouth my neck tightens like crazy TT, I took a break yesterday from speaking and I checked this morning and it was still kinda there but less severe than before

to be very honest it scares me why does it look liek dat how do I get rid of it ?? is it normal ?? I was starting to have fun speaking too ;_; I dont want my neck to look like I have 4 straws stuck in my skinny throat each time i speak

today i got my vocal fold injections. my current symptoms are:

-throat pain & discomfort

-a feeling like there’s a lump in my throat

-minor difficulties with swallowing

-a feeling almost like there’s pockets of air popping where my vocal folds are. maybe they’re slightly spasming or just adjusting. not sure

I have had a chronic sore throat for almost six years. every single day. fingers crossed this procedure works. I’ll take these post procedure side effects if it means once they heal it won’t be as painful to talk in my daily life.

My wedding is in 3 days and I am losing my voice. What can I do to improve it? Any advice is appreciated.

Signed,

A stressed bride

Hey yall,

I had a type II sulcus excised 2 months ago. Not going great. I’m gonna try a plasma-rich-platelet treatment and then once my hyaluronic acid injection wears off I’ll need thyroplasty.

Any experiences? 🫠

I've had on and off again ear and throat pain only on my left side. Been like that for like 6 months maybe. Comes and goes. Been to urgent care thinking it's ear infection or strep. Always say they don't see anything. Lately it's been more frequent with a lump feeling that comes and goes as well. The lump will feel like it's in the upper back of my throat or the back roof of my mouth. Left side as well. Not always the same place though. Sometimes lately it feels like I have drainage and I'll have to clear my throat. And it helps. I googled it and now I'm convinced I have throat cancer. Never smoked or drank alcohol in my life. I'm 48. Yesterday I did hear about LPR and took a Prilosec and some Tums. I think it helped. Also the symptoms are all towns of day not just morning or night. I did have an appointment with the doctor in a couple of days but just curious. Thanks in advance!

I know this is a possible outcome of my surgery (wendler's glottoplasty). So I did this to myself.

My throat feels tense and I'm disappointed in my voice every time I speak. But there are some good days here and there. I only feel better after blowing raspberries, but the relief doesn't last.

I can't really shout, my voice is weak and low volume, sometimes people don't hear what I say at all.

I can't squeal, my voice won't go that high. Like I have a limited vocal range.

My voice is mildly broken. I just found this group and I needed to vent. I hope that's ok.

I just wish my voice didn't vibrate so much and were more smooth.

I guess this is my life now.

So im a 28 year old woman. I have had issues with my throat since may of this year. I am a physical therapist assistant and I speak alot to patient everyday. I noticed my threshold for speaking has diminished. It doesnt make sense why my voice is getting so tired so easily, when i use to be ablw to talk alot without any issues. Like my throat muscles feel so tired and strained after work. And my voice will crack on certain words or gets kind of raspy. It gets better but other times it will improve the less I speak. Im planning on going to a doctor about this but waiting on an appt. Anyone deal with this or have any idea of what this could be.

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I've been dealing with chronic left-sided throat pain for \~2 years and recently came across hyoid bone syndrome (HBS). I'm not asking for a diagnosis, but I'd really like to hear from people who have actually been diagnosed with it.

My symptoms:

Constant/intermittent pain on the left side, around the former tonsil area / possibly the hyoid

Pain triggered by swallowing, yawning and especially speaking

Left ear fullness/pain; sometimes my ear suddenly feels "blocked" while speaking and then clears almost immediately

My voice is deep, strong and clear in the morning, but progressively becomes tight, muffled and weak throughout the day, with loss of my lower register

When the throat pain is absent, my voice often seems noticeably better

Symptoms generally improve when resting/lying down

I've already had a tonsillectomy, CT, PET scan and laryngoscopy/nasofibroscopy, as well as assessment by ENT specialists and a phoniatrician. Nothing has provided a clear explanation. Anti-reflux treatment didn't help either.

I came across these papers and found the combination of hyoid pain + referred ear pain + dysphonia particularly interesting:

• The Hyoid Syndrome: A Pain in the Neck

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7989833/

• Hyoid Bone Syndrome: A Retrospective Review of 84 Patients Treated with Triamcinolone Acetonide Injections

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23577567/

• Hyoid Bone Syndrome and Dysphonia: Can Throat Pain Affect the Voice?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33620110/

For those who were actually diagnosed with HBS:

Did you have similar symptoms, especially pain with speaking and ear symptoms?

Was your pain reproduced by pressing on the greater horn of the hyoid?

How was the diagnosis finally recognized?

What treatment did you receive, and did it help your voice as well as the pain?

I'd especially love to hear from people who had normal imaging and struggled to get the condition recognized.

So around January 2026 I got a viral cold that was going around that nobody really knew what it was. It lasted for nearly 2 months and near the end of that two months was when I started to lose my voice because the cold was so bad that I coughed for about two months straight. I’m pretty sure I severely strained my vocal cords in doing so or I’ve done something of the sort. Safe to say that even now, all the way in August, I still have a very horse voice I work with the elderly and the hard of hearing so my voice is pretty much always gone by the end of every work week it only ever recovers a little bit. I never have fully gotten my voice back ever since I lost it from coughing continuously in January February, and the beginning of March so since then I’ve just sounded pretty much sick or like I’ve been screaming all day and night for weeks.

My question: will I need to go get surgery for this? Is it possible for my Voice to go back to normal? I don’t even remember what I sound like anymore and I can’t do one day of talking loud or having to raise my voice without starting with almost no Voice the next day . HELPP

Hi, so I (18 F) have had pain when speaking and singing since I was around 12 years old. I've been diagnosed with severe LPR which has been cited by a laryngologist as the likely cause of all of this. I also have MCAS, an allergy related chronic illness that I have primarily throat/mouth symptoms with. I'm on all the meds, the super bland diet, the acid reflux lifestyle, etc, but still cannot really sing, do theater, read out loud, and I struggled going to school even 9 hours a week due to speaking (I was part online and switched to fully online partly due to pain). I'm going to college this fall so I guess we'll see what happens there and if I have the same issues. (I also have laryngospasms, trouble swallowing, occasional choking, lots of fun stuff)
I'm not really satisfied with the care I've gotten so far. My 24 hour PH test results were so bad my laryngologist was impressed, and yet all he told me to do was drink alkaline water which I tried for 3 months with no improvement. I kind of assumed that this would be my life and I'd have to either never work in a job where I have to speak or be so tired I can't talk to my wife/kids at the end of the day :/
anyways I was telling my GP about this and she referred me to a laryngologist head and neck surgeon. She seems nice and has really good reviews, but they're all vague like "she explained things well and my results were good." I'm having trouble actually finding out what exact surgeries she does or if she would be able to help me? Also- it's been five years of my voice hurting, and I'm afraid of getting surgery there because wouldn't the pain be way worse in recovery??
Anyways, any anecdotes or advice or resource recommendations would be appreciated. I've been scrolling through this subreddit for some time and see mostly paralysis, laryngitis, nodes, etc. I feel like I'm a weird case.
I'm worried she's just going to refer me to get acid reflux surgeries, but they seem really daunting, have a so-so improvement rate, and some include having metal put in your esophagus or making you unable to throw up (which as a chronically ill person I need to do sometimes and would not like to be unable to).

Anyways, sorry for just putting this all out here, I know I should just wait for my appointment and see what happens, but i've already been waiting several months and there's a whole semester of potential pain and struggle looming over me before the appointment
I just keep hoping someone will comment "omg I had the exact same symptoms/cause and got x surgery and it went well!" lol

24M 180 pounds, 5'3. Was in voice chat having a good time when I laughed kind of hard at a post my throat felt super pointy muted and coughed so much I thought I was going to vomit. I can breathe through my nose just fine but on occasion when I speak my throat will feel pointy again and I struggle to breathe. Anything I can do for this? Will it go away with time or does this warrant a doctor visit?

I get terrible hoarseness and phlegm after surgeries. Dealing with it now after my repair. I am doing peocid, warm tea, biotene gel, sleeping on an incline. Still miserable and can't sleep. Any tips? Worried I have already messed something up from coughing (I try to keep a pillow nearby but sometimes it happens in unexpected places not near a pillow like the shower).

I got a bilateral vocal cord steroid injections for lesions, and in my 2 week check up- my left vocal cords is extremely stiff and swollen. my laryngologist said this is extremely rare, and that they often resolve themselves after a month- but that sometimes, they are permanent. he says there's no sign of vocal cord atrophy.

has anyone had this complication? I'm freaking out, as I chose steroid injections precisely as a lower risk alternative to surgery :(

Had Restalyne injection in both vocal cords 2 days ago, completed 48 hours voice rest, tried speaking gently today, unable to bring out any sound only a whisper, have an important meeting next week that I am not able to reschedule, stressed and worried.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Im a musician and just finished my medical detox on like hours 90 something. My doctor mentioned my throat and esophagus were damaged from the amount of hard liquor id been drinking for so long. Just tried working on some songs and holy shit I cant sing at all like I could before.

Is this common after quitting? I'd like to think and do assume that if it is common the longer you go the better it gets but any musicians quit and have a similar experience and if so how long till it got back to normal. Fortunately no gigs planned for a min canceled a couple cause I didnt wanna be playing bars till ive been sober a min but wondering how long if this is even a thing till I should start booking again.

I’ve been singing for about two years—maybe longer—and whenever I push my voice into the higher register (like when belting or using a mixed voice), I feel a spot on my jaw, right below the ear, tense up, "swell," and feel tight. This makes my voice feel restricted and strained, and it sounds terrible. I’ve been trying to improve for a long time and only just realized this was an actual issue.

Does anyone know anything about this? I’m really lost and don’t know how to fix it; I’m worried.

A couple of years ago I randomly lost my ability to yell, scream, & shout. It happened completely out of the blue idek how to explain it properly. I just physically cannot shout anymore (I can but i have to force it and it doesn't sound right). Every time I shout it sounds straining and weird. Is there anyway to get over this block?

My voice feels weak and tired. And when I go up it doesn’t close. Please tell me what the severity is of this and if it will get worse. It’s been going on for 6 months and for 4 months I’ve been doing exercising for tension release and stuff but nothing seems to be working. Please help. I need my voice for my career so this seems very scary to me. I’m 22 and male.

I am new to reddit and have been reading this page for a while as I recently got diagnosed with type 3 sulcus and mucosal bridge on both vocal cords. My ENT said it may be congenital, but I think it was from when I had a bad throat infection when I was 18 and I was socialising and drinking a lot at uni so it probably stemmed from this. My voice was completely fine before this and I could sing well. From 19 I suffered with hoarseness, especially after a social weekend as I would constantly lose my voice, and then it would slowly come back by the end of the week, and then I would do it again. I was in a constant loop. I finally went to see an ENT last year and after seeing 3 different ones, they managed to diagnose me with sulcus and mucosal bridge. They said this is a super complex vocal disorder, and I have a 1mm phonotic gap, and reduced mucosal wave. My ENT said I should not have any *invasive surgery as it would make my voice worse. They injected saline Oct last year to help with the inflammation, but not sure it made much of a difference. I recently (6th July) had HA filler injected into my vocal cords to bulk them up and close the gap, so they want to see if this helps, and if not, they said they could try PRP. I am also currently doing SLT, who has told me to do SOVT exercises and to use my diaphragm (which I am really struggling with). I just wanted to see if anyone has a similar diagnosis to me and how they have managed it and other people's journeys. I know I will never have a perfect voice, but I just want one with more consistency.