Benign Mucosal Fold Lesion as a Cause of Hoarseness of Voice - A Clinical Study

Hoarseness is a vague term that patients often use to describe a change in voice quality ranging from voice hoarseness to voice weakness. However the term can reflect abnormalities anywhere along the vocal tract from the oral cavity to lungs. Ideally the term “Hoarseness” refers to laryngeal dysfunction caused by abnormal vocal cord vibration [1]. Bernoulli’s principle explains that when air passes from one large space to another i.e. from lungs to Pharynx, a vibratory pattern is developed at the vocal cords and the resultant sound produced is appreciated as voice [2]. When the regularity of vibratory pattern is lost, i.e. becomes random, the resulting vocal sound is heard as a hoarse. There are a variety of causative factors leading to hoarseness of voice which include acute or chronic infections, benign mucosal fold disorders, systemic diseases, gastro esophageal reflux disorders, malignancies etc.