Hoarseness
Abnormal voice change is a very common symptom that many people experience—but they shouldn’t, warns Michael Lerner, MD, a Yale Medicine laryngologist. “Hoarseness, also called dysphonia, is often dismissed as just laryngitis, but it can be a sign of something more serious,” he explains.
“Excessive or forceful voice use from singing or cheering too loudly at a game can lead to vocal cord injury in the form of a broken blood vessel in the larynx or even vocal cord growths, such as polyps or nodules.”
The worst part is that hoarseness can also occur due to the presence of cancerous growths on the vocal cords themselves or elsewhere within the throat. Since the vocal cords are relatively concealed within the larynx or “voice box” in the center of someone’s throat, they cannot be easily examined.
