Acid Reflux Can Change the Sound of Your Voice

Acid reflux or heart burn over a period of time can be dangerous and painful for the sufferer of this disease and as I learned it can change the sound of your voice by damaging your vocal cords.

With acid reflux the acids from your stomach backwash into your esophagus and this is where your vocal cords are located. This stomach acid will over time irritate the vocal cords and could make them swell making your voice tone change or you voice may sound hoarse. One of the first ways that you may know that you have acid reflux is that your friends and coworkers are telling you that you sound sick, or your voice is hoarse. You may not know until someone brings it to your attention.

There are tests that you can take to see if your hoarseness is from this disease, one is where they put a scope down your throat a ways to see your vocal cords. You may even be able to watch this while it is done. This is usually done at the doctor's office and only takes a few minutes for the whole procedure. If the doctor sees that your hoarseness is caused by your vocal cords being swelled, then with the other questions he asks he may be able to determine if you have acid reflux.

Your voice changing or hoarseness may be accompanied by a feeling of a lump in your throat from your cords being swelled. This may be more severe at nights when you are laying flat or after you had a large spicy meal before going to bed. You may notice this before you notice that burning in the back of your throat.

While this may be uncomfortable and you may sound different for awhile there are treatments for acid reflux that you can be placed on. One could be prescriptions or over the counter medication. Of course your diet will probably have to change to have more bland foods in it and less spicy foods. Your doctor will give you a course of action to help with your acid reflux and heartburn. Once you get this under control after a few weeks the swelling in your vocal cords should decrease making your voice go back to normal.

There are many causes of hoarseness and vocal cords swelling. If you feel like you have a lump in your throat or you voice has changed, you do need to make an appointment with your physician to have it checked out.