Hoarseness – Causes

I have categorized these into five.

1.  Infective                                                                                                                                               
   These may be viral, bacterial or fungal.  The commonest would be the viral upper respiratory tract infection.  Bacterial causes of laryngitis include Tuberculosis. Fungi can occur in immune-compromised patients. 
2. Dysfunctional                                                                                                                                       
   This includes spastic dysphonia and will be discussed in another blog.
3. Tumours                                                                                                                                               
   Either benign, for instance viral papillomas, or malignant eg. squamous carcinoma due to smoking.
4. Paralysis                                                                                                                                       
   Paralysis of the vocal cords can be viral, congenital, idiopathic, or due to tumours.  These tumours are normally malignant and can involve the neck, as in thyroid cancer, or the chest and  tumours of the larynx itself.
5. Inflammatory conditions                                                                                                                 
    These would include vocal overuse and reflux.