Voice impairment

[Thumper2000]

I really need some help as I’m finding my mental health being affected now (I’ve got BPD, depression and aniexty) I’m now on day 16 of next to no voice. Thanks to past asthma meds and now apparently stress (even though I’m not stressed, apart from of course now being on day 16) as worked out by my asthma consultant and the speech therapy team. My larynx over the past 6 years or so has decided it will give me impaired speech ability. I go from being just normal to a high pitched squeak to deep or a whisper or just nothing. Yes occasionally it can be funny (I had myself and my family crying at my laugh the other night) but in reality it definitely isn’t funny. The inability to speak properly has a serious impact on what I can do. I’ve got important calls to make but can’t. If I’m in a shop and need help I have to text it to the assistant (deeply embarrassing).At my chest physio appt last week the entire half hr I had no voice so had to write the entire time. Does anyone know how to use those voice to speech apps when making calls or using the accessibility parts on our phones (none of it makes sense to me on how to use the different things I’ve found). Or has anyone else had this problem and found a way to solve it. The longest my voice can be impaired for has been as long as 3 months. So for the long message 😔

[ChrissieMons]

You have my sympathy. I don't know what's wrecked my voice, but at first, I paid to see a speech therapist and she was excellent. No idea about the voice app, but I'd see a specialist first. I think old age and decreptitude has worsened mine, but it isn't as bad as yours. Your 1st step might be to ask your GP to recommend someone who sticks a camera down your throat to see what is (or is not) happening down there. And talk to someone professional about how you feel. You should have someone helping you with your BPD - use them!

[Thumper2000 in reply to ChrissieMons]

Hi Chrissie thank you for your reply. I’ve had all the therapy I’m allowed for my BPD, so basically the therapists say I have to just get on with it. As for my larynx it’s a bit of a saga. I’ve had the cameras down and there is apparently nothing wrong in terms of nodules or anything like that. So what my asthma consultant thinks has happened is the powder inhalers I used to be on have damaged for larynx in some way. I have also seen a Speech therapist and she said sometimes even when we consciously do not feel stressed our bodies can be stressed internally and loosing my voice is the way my body is showing it. Just don’t understand what my body is supposedly stressed about though, I had a sore throat on the 25th, woke up on the 26th with no voice and since then it’s been variable mostly bordering on not been able to function without pen and paper. The bug I had was so minor so I’m not convinced that would have been enough for my body to get stressed about. Although I suppose now coming to the end of today and getting frustrated now perhaps I’m giving my body ammo so to speak.