Afonia is what? Causes, diagnosis, treatment

People have long been accustomed to the fact that they have the ability to talk, so they take this phenomenon for granted. A person can, without hesitation, speak speech and make various sounds. But for some people, voice is an important tool that they use in their professional activities. This category includes teachers, artists, singers, politicians and many others. The loss of a voice is a signal that there have been some violations in the body. Therefore, do not let things go by themselves, waiting for the problem to go away by itself. It is necessary to seek help from a specialist who will determine the causes of the disease and offer rational treatment.

What is aphonia?

In scientific terms, aphonia is a state where the voice is noisy. Often a person can speak in a whisper, but sometimes this function is also absent. During a cough sounds can occur, but with certain diseases and it is silent. Sometimes in the course of a conversation a sick person skips a subtle note, but in most cases there is no sound.

Dysphonia has a slightly different meaning, the so-called timbral voice changes. A person can make sounds, but his voice sounds hoarse, nasal or hoarse. This state is characterized as a partial loss of voice, while aphonia is a complete lack of sound.

Voice Violations

There are a number of voice disorders that are characterized by partial or complete loss of sound (phonation). Such pathologies are most often found in people whose professional activities are related to the speech device (artists, vocalists, teachers, TV presenters, etc.). Violations of phonation are associated with a high load on the vocal cords. In adolescents, this condition is observed during puberty. Approximately 6 to 24% of children at this age experience phonation impairment during the mutation of the voice.

Speech pathologies come in various forms:

• Dysarthria.
• Alalia.
• Stuttering.
• Rinolalia.
• Aphasia, etc.

About 41% of children face in their lives with speech problems. Such pathologies negatively affect the psycho-neurological state of a person, do not give full development of communicative abilities, limit the choice of professional activity.

Dysphonia, aphonia refer to medical and social problems, so they are studied not only by medical workers, but also by educators.

Why does aphonia occur?

Incorrect functioning of the vocal cords leads to disturbances in sound formation. There is a complete or partial unconjugation of ligaments, because of which a person can not fully speak, or even not at all able to pronounce any sounds. The reasons for aphonia are quite diverse:

• Inflammatory processes in the larynx for diseases such as laryngitis, diphtheria, acute respiratory infections.
• Irritation of the mucous membranes of the larynx when inhaled smoke, various substances that cause an allergic reaction. Cold and dry air is also an irritant.
• Presence of a tumor.
• Neurological diseases.
• Psychological states: stress, anxiety, nervous overexertion, in more rare cases - mental disorders.
• Defects of the congenital nature associated with the development of the apparatus of ligaments.
• The lower laryngeal nerve is affected.
• The ingress of small foreign bodies into the larynx.
• Getting injured. This category includes carrying out operations on the neck, as well as setting up a probe for the injection of anesthesia.

Violations of voice are of two types of classification: organic and functional. Let us consider in more detail the features of each of them.

Organic disorders

The reasons for voice violations of the organic type are divided into two types:

• The central ones. This is when aphonia and dysphonia arise from anarthria and dysarthria. A person's voice is broken due to paralysis or paresis of ligaments, which in turn are caused by damage to the nervous system, as well as pathologies of the trunk and cortex of the brain. A vivid example of this condition is the disease of cerebral palsy.
• Peripheral. Violation of the voice occurs after the inflammatory diseases of the larynx (laryngitis, burn, etc.). This also includes anatomical changes in the apparatus of ligaments (tumors, trauma, operations on the larynx).

Functional violations

Functional type of voice disorders, as well as organic ones, are of a peripheral and central type. Afaniya voices can occur in a psychotraumatic situation. Such a speech disorder is referred to as central functional disorders. Most often it occurs in women who are prone to neurotic disorders.

Peripheral disorders are often associated with heavy loads on the voice device. In the transitional age, pathological vocal mutations are caused by disturbances in the endocrine system, overstraining of ligaments, and smoking at an early age.

Hypertonic dysphonia and aphonia are a condition to which the development of excessive excessive voice boosts. Pathology can be caused by bilateral myopathic paresis of the larynx, which most often arises from a strong voice overload during a diphtheria, acute respiratory viral infection, etc.

Diagnostics

To determine the cause of the pathology, you may need the help of such specialists:

• Otolaryngologist;
• Phoniatric;
• Neurologist.

To diagnose the diagnosis is carried out:

• Laryngoscopy helps to identify inflammatory and anatomical changes in ligaments.
• CT and X-ray revealed tumors in the larynx.
• Stroboscopy assesses the functional state of the folds of the vocal apparatus.
• Electroglottography determines the dynamics of changes in the voice.

Speech therapist is engaged in the study of voice characteristics.

What should I do with aphania?

Afonia is a rather serious pathology, which leads to almost total loss of voice. There are a lot of reasons for its occurrence, so when this problem arises, one should not engage in self-medication. We need to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible, since the choice of therapy will depend on identifying the root cause of the disease.

It is important to follow the recommendations of a specialist, in this case the treatment will be most effective.

With aphonia, antihistamines, sedatives, antimicrobials, and inhalants can be prescribed. But the choice of treatment is selected individually, because it directly depends on the root cause of the appearance of pathology. In some cases, an operation is required to correct the problem.

A person, faced with such a disease as aphonia, in order to stabilize his condition should:

• Completely abandon alcoholic beverages, coffee and various spices, since these products can cause irritation of the mucous membranes of the larynx.
• Observe the voice mode. You need to be as silent as possible. It is forbidden to scream and sing, as this gives an extra strain on the bundles.
• For the duration of treatment, quit smoking, because smoke adversely affects the voice device. For the same reason, it is advisable to exclude sharp odors.

Treatment with folk methods

Treatment of aphonia can be carried out with the help of folk remedies. But here we must remember that not all methods used in folk medicine are good. For example, there is an ancient tradition of drinking raw eggs for problems with voice. It is very often used by vocalists. Eggs do have useful properties and have a positive effect on the ligaments. But in this case, the risk of getting infected with salmonella increases very much, and this is a very serious disease.

Very often, when a voice is lost, people begin to warm their neck with vodka compresses and various ointments with a warming effect. This is strictly forbidden, since the cause of aphonia can be a tumor in the larynx. This procedure will only harm the patient. If you still decided to resort to warming up, consult a doctor beforehand so as not to damage your health.

As a folk remedy for aphonia use:

• Inhalations with decoction of oak bark and chamomile with the addition of soda.
• Juice from white cabbage (freshly squeezed). Use 100 ml 3 times a day.
• Decoction of garlic lobules. Cook until the teeth are soft (this will remove the sharpness).

Preventive measures

To avoid loss of voice, you must follow certain rules:

• Strengthen the vocal cords.
• It is necessary to monitor the adjustment of the volume of the voice, especially if the professional activity is related to the load on the ligaments.
• Quit smoking and alcohol completely.
• Strengthen the immune system (proper nutrition, exercise, sleep, etc.).

Afoniya is a loss of voice that any person can have. In most cases, this pathology can be successfully treated. The main thing - in time to see a doctor for timely help.