Aphonia

APHONIA (from the Greek a - negative particle, and phone-voice), loss of voice; observed in diseases of the larynx, in various nervous diseases (polyneuritis, progressive bulbar paralysis, poliomyelitis), with insufficient closure or vibration of the vocal cords, and in inflammatory processes, new growths, and scars both on the cords and in their vicinity. Aphonia is also caused by paralysis of the laryngeal muscles, which may occur from functional causes (hysteria) as well as from organic ones. Spastic aphonia is characterized by complete convulsive closure of the glottis; as an early symptom, it sometimes occurs in multiple sclerosis. In hysterical aphonia, the glottis remains open with weak tension of the vocal cords; during an affect in hysterical aphonia, the patient may suddenly develop a normal voice. Paralytic aphonia denotes complete loss of voice (paralysis of the vocal cords). Treatment consists of eliminating the basic diseases that caused the aphonia.