New Delhi: Your stuck at home and if you havent figured out a routine to keep you sane as yet, youre probably turning to more cigarettes then you normally do.
But here’s what you should know, smoking has many side effects one of which is the impact on your throat and vocal cords, thus affecting your voice. At first you may notice something is amiss when your normal voice gets a little bit husky. Soon you might find it develops a lot of croaking when you try to speak up.
Dr Atul Kumar Mittal, Director & Head of Department of ENT, Fortis, Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram reveals the details on Smoker’s Voice.
The hoarse raspiness you hear and feel is what one calls as Smoker’s Voice. Smoker’s voice, typically, refers to a gradual reduction of the pitch of the voice, where the voice can become masculinized. The effects are mostly perpetual because of changes in the structure of the vocal fold. The most significant way to protect your voice is to never smoke or to stop smoking.
Everything we inhale passes right across the vocal cords. Our voice is a result of the vibrations caused by the vocal cords. Ease in these vibrations result in a smooth, natural voice. These sensitive and delicate vocal cords can adversely react to irritants like allergens, dry air, dust, chemical odors, smoking, reflux, etc.
The burning end of a cigarette reaches a temperature of about 9000 C. The light simple discomfort can turn into edema or swelling, which in many cases requires surgery.
Repeated, long-term smoking causes tissue damage leading to cancer. Cancer can develop in the larynx or voice box. Laryngeal cancer can spread to other parts of the body such as the back of the tongue and lungs. Smokers are more at risk of premature death caused by laryngeal cancer than non-smokers. It has been clinically proven that when doctors referred their patients with hoarse voices (not caused by upper respiratory infections) lasting more than 2 weeks on to the E.N.T. specialists for a look at the voice, the stage at which throat cancers were discovered dropped significantly compared to those who were not referred on, and survival rates increased.
Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions one can make for one’s health. People who smoke are at greater risk of having illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. However, giving up smoking can reduce your risk and put you on a path to better health. Someone has rightly said -, “Smoking is an answer to the most existential question: How are you going to die.” (IANS)