As every year, the awareness campaign on voice care is aimed at the general population: "All life with a voice", attention is placed on the elderly.

 

The voice is our identity, each has its own and is different from any other, then the possibility of having it throughout life and with all the possibilities of communication allows you to have a healthier life in general.

 

About 5% of the world population suffers from a voice disorder that requires specialized medical attention; The highest prevalence is between 25 and 45 years of age, mainly in certain professions such as teaching, speech or acting, generally caused by misuse or abuse of the voice.

 

However, "in older adults, the evolution of age itself causes some loss in the richness of the sound of the voice, the idea is that from the training this can favor a better sound production".

 

The loss of voice in the elderly has to do with the natural deterioration that age causes in the musculature of the whole economy of the body, the vocal cords are muscles and then they also suffer this deterioration. But what often happens with this age group is that they do not communicate because they are alone, they do not have valid interlocutors, that makes them limit the use of their voice and then the deterioration is greater.

 

Recommendations for a healthy voice in older adults

If a person does not use his voice on a daily basis, there is a loss in sound quality, that is, the voice changes and becomes dysphonic, in addition to altering the functioning of the vocal cords. "The voice must be used to be efficient, so what we say is that they continue to use their voice."

 

The way to encourage the use of the voice in older adults can be: take singing lessons, attend a choir, narration workshops, tell stories grandchildren or anecdotes to the family, or with phonoaudiological treatment. The idea is that they perform a constant activation, that they do not talk with the dry throat and hydrate it with water at room temperature.

 

Any change in the voice, no matter how long it lasts two weeks, and not due to a laryngitis, cold or flu, deserves to be observed. A consultation should be made with a specialist, in this case, otolaryngologists and speech pathologists work together to give accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatments.

 

Most people usually consult late, when the disorder has already become chronic. And he explains that there are two types of laryngeal pathologies: benign and malignant. Among the first, which are considered alterations due to misuse and vocal abuse, the most common are: functional dysphonia, nodules in the vocal cords, polyps, cysts and edema.

 

The malignant ones are due to the consumption of alcohol, tobacco or the combination of both, this increases the possibility of incidence and prevalence of cancer of the larynx, which is highly curable if it is detected early. It is important to note that a benign lesion does not become malignant.

 

It is important to be alert of certain signs to make an early consultation. "It is not normal for the voice to be hoarse, you should not tire of speaking or have a sensation of hacking, of a strange body, or pain in the throat.

 

Vocal over-exertion is misuse and abuse of the voice, mainly speaking loudly, a lot and without the proper technique, screaming and hawking. Cold, flu, laryngitis affect the voice in a transitory way, which should be recovered in two weeks, the person can even have used the voice in that state of diminution, and the effort generates an injury.

 

According to global statistics, it is considered that 50% of voice professionals consult at some point in their career for an alteration. For that reason, every professional, actor, announcer, singer, communicator, teacher, has to make a routine consultation once a year to see what is the status of your larynx and vocal cords. Also, do not warm up before using the voice and cooling when finished.

 

The voice is our letter of introduction and means of communication, and when you lose what hurts most is that you want to say something and you can not be heard. It is important the work of the otolaryngologist with the speech therapist managing to form an integral team.

 

Every year the population is made aware of the early consultation because early detection allows adequate treatment and the possibility of cure. There are more and more specific diagnostic elements, easy and that determine very precisely the treatment that one has to implement.