Why Is My Voice Hoarse? Causes of Hoarseness

Is your voice hoarse? Maybe you sound hoarse after a long day of talking, maybe you wake up with a hoarse voice every morning or maybe you sound hoarse all the time. Let's talk about 5 most common reasons for hoarseness together with tips on how to start dealing with your vocal problem.

Hoarse Voice

First of all, what does it mean to have a hoarse voice? It simply means that you sound raspy, breathy or strained. When there is disruption in the structure of the vocal folds or the vocal function, your voice cannot work properly.

Hoarseness is a general term and there may be many different reasons why you sound hoarse. So, just based on how you sound, voice specialists cannot really determine what is going on with your voice and how to help you.

5 Causes of a Hoarse Voice

Now, let’s talk about 5 common causes of chronic hoarseness. Chronic means a hoarse voice that persists beyond 2 weeks without the presence of acute infection such as common cold or flu, or often comes back after voice use. Here we go:

Cause #1: Medical conditions and medication

Medical conditions such as allergies, asthma, acid reflux, hormonal changes, arthritis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and many other conditions can cause hoarseness. Also some medication is known to cause a hoarse voice.

The best way to deal with hoarseness in this case is to consult your doctor or a medical specialist, such as an allergologist, gastroenterologist or neurologist.

Cause #2: Vocal Overuse

Hoarseness due to vocal overuse happens when vocal folds work more than they are conditioned to at that moment. People who use their voices frequently with great demands are prone to vocal issues. Also, if you use your voice in a way that brings the vocal folds together with greater force, you may be experiencing hoarseness.

If you belong to this category of people, I suggest 2 things.

First, plan your voice use and voice breaks ahead of time. Know when and how you will be using your voice throughout the day and week and make sure that your voice has a chance to rest and recover.

Second, build vocal and body endurance and stamina with regular practice. Keep improving your vocal technique to optimize vocal function for high demands.

Cause #3: Muscle Tension

Hoarseness of voice is a very common symptom of muscle tension related vocal issues. Just imagine - your muscles are working with excessive tension, maybe the vocal folds come together with greater force, or other structures in the larynx squeeze or compress, which causes irregular vibrations.

Or maybe, there is a little gap between the vocal folds and the muscles over-squeeze to produce a clear tone. This is a functional problem - there is no structural change on the vocal folds themselves but the coordination of the muscles responsible for voicing is out of sync.

In this case, releasing tension, improving breath flow and resonance, and optimizing vocal function without inviting tension into the picture help get rid of hoarseness.

If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready to work with me towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom System coaching program. Click this link to apply.

Cause #4: Smoking tobacco or marihuana

There is no doubt that smoking has a negative effect on the vocal folds, whether you smoke tobacco or marijuana. There may be less damage to the voice with a vaporizer but there is still a possibility of injury, like hoarseness, limited vocal range, polyps or nodules. A risk of cancer also exists regardless of method of inhalation. And this damage is almost always irreversible.

Cause #5: Paralysis

Vocal fold paralysis occurs when the nerve impulses to the larynx are disrupted for whatever reason and very often we don’t know the reason, we just know that one or both vocal folds do not move properly. Vocal fold paralysis can result from surgery, injury to the chest or neck, cancer, neurological disorders, or something else. Therapy for vocal fold paralysis will be very different from the other four causes so it is very important to really know the reason behind your hoarseness.

To learn more, watch this video: