Why is My Throat Hoarse?

Waking up to a hoarse voice - a feeling and sound of a roughness and discordance in the quality of the voice - can be more than disconcerting. There can be a dozen reasons for a hoarse voice, ranging in severity from a simple overuse or strain - to something much more serious.

A hoarse voice or throat, or hoarseness may be caused by external irritants such as smoking, or being in a smoky area, wood smoke or environmental pollutants in the air, vocal abuse (overuse of the voice from yelling, singing, or talking for a long time), and even by extreme emotional stress. However, hoarseness may also be the first or only symptom of a more serious infection or disease of the upper respiratory system or the larynx.

The larynx is also known as the voice box and most diseases here are caused by an interference with the essential functions of talking, breathing and swallowing. Since the larynx is located in the neck, near the lymph nodes and nerves, it can be easily affected (and, thus, the hoarse voice) by illness in this part of the body. Infections, illness, and cancer of this part of the body may create hoarseness.

In addition to acute infectious diseases caused by bacteria and virus, and environmental causes like dust, smoke, fire or fumes, hoarseness can also be caused by pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis or tumors of and in the lung can also involve the larynx as a secondary symptoms of the condition. Other severe situations, such as an aneurism of the aorta, tumors in the neck and injuries of the nerve structures in and around the larynx can create a symptom of hoarseness.

Hoarseness that only lasts a few days and does not recur, may not be a problem. However, hoarseness that persists for more than a couple weeks, or that worsens over time, or hoarseness that comes and goes is cause for a trip to the doctor. A doctor will perform an examination and do tests and screenings to try to determine whether there are infections or illnesses that may be causing the hoarseness, as well as help evaluate whether or not it could be caused by environmental factors. If needed, an internal examination of the larynx may be necessary, as may a biopsy of any tumors or growth present in the area. In the case of voice abuse or exposure to environmental toxins, small nodules will be present on the anterior part of the vocal chords. Treatment options will depend on the severity and the cause of the condition contributing to the hoarseness.