So anxious about possible voice damage

Hi there,

I completely understand your anxiety, it is a terrifying thought that you’ll wake up after surgery with changes to your voice. I hope my experience will reassure you somewhat that even if it happens you will be ok.

I have had 5 operations and after my second one the nerve to one of my vocal cords had to be sacrificed to remove the lymph nodes they wanted. I lost my voice for several weeks, it was still hoarse and breathy after a few months. The doctors said to me there’s no guarantee it’ll get better. It was worse in the cold, my voice would disappear completely when outdoors in winter. HOWEVER, it slowly came back. Your other vocal cord starts to compensate and now I sound exactly the same as I did before. Apart from not being able to sing as well I never notice. The surgeons monitor your nerves very closely and it’s unlikely you will experience damage. But if you do (like me) you never know how permanent those changes are. 

The NHS also has speech and language therapy that can help you learn to project a quiet voice. 

I know you must be very nervous but I hope this shows that even if the rare thing happens you will cope. Your body’s capacity to recover is amazing.

Hi Gold Finch, 

I was worried about this too. I had my thyroid and some lymph nodes removed a few years ago. I suffered from vocal cord paralysis on my right vocal cord. I was really hoping given time after my op that it would have healed up but months down the line my voice was still nothing more than a whisper, I sounded like a witch. It was the hardest part of it all as socialising became so difficult. Speech therapy wasn’t helping and there was no sign of my vocal cord waking back up. I went and had medialization which is an injection that bulks up your damaged vocal cord so that it sits in a better position to help the working vocal cord project your voice. After the injection I was on voice rest for two weeks after this I was able to speak. My original voice still hasn’t come back, but I’m honestly just grateful that I have a voice. 

I’ve known people who have had the same exact surgery sometimes more than once and didn’t have any voice complications, so just know that it is unlikely that you will and if you do there are things out there that help hugely. From diagnosis through to recovery and beyond will shape and change your outlook on life and I personally wouldn’t change my journey through it at all. 

Best of luck 

Thank you so much  for sharing this.  
I’ve now heard that my surgery is Feb 10th. I must try to trust that all will go well and take strength from your experience. 

Thank you for sharing this.  I really just want it to happen now and must trust that the surgeon will take good care of me. 

Best of luck! You will cope regardless

Hi Ash, I have the exact same issue as u had, with my right side being paralysed its really hard to produce any volume to my voice .. the speech therapy isnt doing much either but I have never heard about the medialization ? 

Is that something I can speak to my consultant about or mention it to the speech therapist ? 

How did u find it help you ? 

thanks so much in advance

Hi, hope ur surgery went well xx how is your voice ?

Hi Iza_bela, 

It was my consultant who let me know about the procedure a good few months after surgery, when it was looking less likely that my cord would heal. I would definitely mention it at your next appointment to get some official information about it. Immediately following medialization (and the two weeks voice rest) I was able to speak clearly and loudly enough for people to hear me. As time went on my voice became louder and louder. I still can’t shout though but perhaps this is not such a bad thing! My voice now is probably similar to my original voice but has a bit more grit to it.

I was told that I’d need the injection once a year however it’s now over 3 years since my first one and I’ve not needed another. 

Here’s a few things that have really helped my voice and throat: 

Switching to decaf! Anything that dries out your throat isn’t going to help. I also avoid fizz (champagne, Prosecco, sparkling wine..) when out with friends as it absolutely destroys my voice for the night even just after one glass. 

When yawning i hold it in and push it backwards, it really helps open and give everything a good stretch back there. 

I’ve noticed keeping my shoulders relaxed keeps my throat from tensing up which it naturally seems to want to do since surgery. 

Hope this helps!