What Causes Chronic Laryngitis And What Treatments Are Available For It?

Laryngitis is an illness whereby the larynx becomes inflamed and swollen. It can be in acute or chronic form, although in most cases, it has no serious consequences. The larynx (also known as the voice box) is the home to the vocal cords in your throat area. The larynx is used in the process of breathing, swallowing and talking.

What is laryngitis?

In normal conditions, the vocal cords open and close smoothly to produce sound. When a person is suffering with laryngitis, his vocal cords are inflamed and change the flow of the air in the throat. 

 

Types of laryngitis:

Laryngitis is characterized by a voice that becomes hoarse and can sometimes be too low in volume to hear the person properly. It is mainly categorized in two forms resulting from different factors:

Acute laryngitis: The most common cause of laryngitis is a viral infection, often similar to those that cause cold or flu. Overusing the voice or cheering at an event can also cause inflammation of the larynx.

Chronic laryngitis: Chronic laryngitis is typically caused by irritation of the larynx resulting from acid reflux, or GERD disease, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infection, excess coughing, exposure to inhaled irritants, smoking, high alcohol intake, habitual misuse or overuse of the voice, etc.

Treatments for laryngitis:

If your chronic laryngitis is due to bad habits such as smoking, alcohol use, work-related exposures or voice overuse, your doctor will refer you to a voice or a speech-language therapist for voice therapy. The Royans Institute for Non-Surgical Voice Repair, based out of Toronto, Canada, is the best place to go for alternative therapy. Their unique and revolutionary non-surgical voice repair program will not only help you to treat your chronic laryngitis, but you will also be taught how to use your voice correctly and how to avoid speaking in ways that might injure your vocal cords.