The word aphonia, etymologically speaking, is made up of various words of Greek origin: firstly "a" which could be translated as "without" and "phonos" which means " sound ". The term itself refers to the loss of the ability to make sounds that allows speech, or failing that, it could be said that it is the absence of voice.
This situation is considered a somewhat more serious matter than dysphonia, which refers to a qualitative or quantitative disorder of phonation whose causes are already organic. It should be mentioned that aphonia can present itself in different ways. An individual may partially lose their voice, as may be the case with mild hoarseness, or on the other hand they may lose their voice completely, which is when the voice sounds similar to a whisper.
There are many and diverse causes that can lead a person to suffer from aphonia, however, there is a situation that is considered the most common and it is none other than the one that encourages excessive use of the voice, excess in the consumption of tobacco and alcoholic beverages or, failing that, having ingested beverages that were extremely cold. Likewise, a fairly common cause of aphonia is the rupture of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which is responsible for directing a large part of the muscles that are located in the larynx area. This structure can be damaged when a surgical intervention is carried out, such as a thyroid operation, as well as by the presence of a tumor in that area.
A type of aphonia that is also quite well known is the so-called functional aphonia, which affects patients who present psychological difficulties. When the larynx of affected people is analyzed, it can be seen that the vocal cords of these people do not join or maintain a certain distance when they try to speak. While they can do it without problems when coughing. To treat this condition requires psychological help and the advice of a speech therapist who is a specialist in speech.
