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Disorders that affect our ability to speak and swallow properly can have a tremendous impact on our lives and livelihoods. ENT specialists treat sore throat, infections, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), throat tumors, airway and vocal cord disorders, and more.
Dr. VyVy Young – Board Certified Otolaryngologist
Swallowing is a complex process that changes over time, and swallowing difficulty (dysphagia) can be associated with aging.
Aspiration is a medical term for accidentally inhaling your food or liquid through your vocal cords into your airway, instead of swallowing through your food pipe and into your stomach.
If the cricopharyngeal muscle (CPM) in your throat malfunctions or is impaired, this can cause you to have difficulty swallowing.
Dysphagia means that you can’t swallow well. Many factors may cause dysphagia, and most are temporary and non-life-threatening.
Acid reflux occurs when acidic stomach contents flow back into the esophagus, the swallowing tube that leads from the back of the throat to the stomach.
Hoarseness (also called dysphonia) is an abnormal change in the quality of your voice, making it sound raspy, strained, breathy, weak, higher or lower in pitch, inconsistent, or fatigued, often making it harder to talk.
The salivary glands are found in and near your mouth, face, and neck. Dehydration is a risk factor for certain salivary gland disorders.
Everybody gets a sore throat now and then. When you have a sore throat, this can affect speaking, swallowing, or breathing.
Spasmodic dysphonia is a voice disorder that causes involuntary spasms or contractions of the vocal cords, interrupting speech and affecting the quality of a person’s voice.
Tonsillitis refers to inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils, which are lymph glands located in the back of the throat that are visible through the mouth.
Tonsils are the two round lumps in the back of your throat. Adenoids are high in the throat behind the nose and the roof of the mouth (referred to as your soft palate).
Vocal cord paralysis and paresis can result from abnormal function of the nerves that control your voice box muscles (laryngeal muscles).
Cancer of the voice box, or laryngeal cancer, is not as well known by the general public as some other types of cancer, yet it is not a rare disease.
A Zenker’s diverticulum (ZD) is a rare condition where an “outpouching” occurs where your throat meets your esophagus, the swallowing pipe that leads into your stomach.
Aspiration is a medical term for accidentally inhaling your food or liquid through your vocal cords into your airway, instead of swallowing through your food pipe and into your stomach.
Dysphagia means that you can’t swallow well. Many factors may cause dysphagia, and most are temporary and non-life-threatening.
When acid refluxes from the stomach into the esophagus, it is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If stomach acid travels up the esophagus into the throat, it is known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).
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Copyright 2024. American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation