What are the possible causes of my voice problem?
Most typically voice problems are due to overuse or straining the voice, like a singer who is over singing, or a teacher or a coach who is yelling all the time and using their voice in a strenuous manner. Other problems that can occur with the voice are chronic hoarseness and that can be caused from smoking, chronic alcohol use or working in environments where there's a lot of irritants like in a chemical factory or a mine or something of that nature. Reflux or heartburn can also cause problems with the voice. The mechanism for this is that acid from the stomach chronically is coming up and actually dropping on top of the vocal chords and burning them, and over time, it causes inflammation and swallowing it can lead to hoarseness. The most common symptom of reflux is, actually, hoarseness. It's not the burning sensation that you feel in the stomach or the chest. Typically, patients may not associate the two with one another. If you're hoarse, many times the otolaryngologist will give you a diagnosis of reflux disease and treat you with antacid.
