Can someone explain David Archuleta's vocal paralysis to me?!
Question: I know there was an article out there, but did it help make his voice mature for his age or is it something else? It's the right kind of growth spurt.
Answers: I know there was an article out there, but did it help make his voice mature for his age or is it something else? It's the right kind of growth spurt.
The larynx, or voice box, includes two relatively identical tissues called vocal folds (or vocal cords) that normally are open in a "V" shape when you're breathing (the point of the V being just behind your Adam's apple). Both vocal folds move to the midline and touch each other when you speak or cough. That way, when the air comes up from the lungs, the air pressures will make the vocal folds vibrate together, just like when you split a blade of grass and blow through it in the summertime. There are two nerves, one on each side, that allow the vocal folds to move back and forth. These are called the recurrent laryngeal nerves. Because the left nerve is much longer than the right one, it makes it more vulnerable to injury. Injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerves can occur because of a virus, surgery complications, pressing from a mass (such as a tumor), or for unknown (idiopathic) reasons. That means that one vocal fold moves to the middle, but the other one either doesn't move at all or doesn't move far enough to make contact with the healthy vocal fold. That results in a breathy vocal sound, difficulty making your voice loud, difficulty making a sharp cough, and sometimes choking on water or food during swallowing. Sometimes the nerve will regain normal function after about a year, and sometimes the patient will need some sort of intervention from a specialized ear-nose-throat doctor to re-position the paralyzed vocal fold so that the normal fold can reach it. In the case of a vocal fold that is paralyzed in a position that is relatively close to midline, special voice exercises can be learned from a specialized speech-language pathologist to help compensate for the patient's symptoms.
Vocal fold paralysis is not normal for any age, and is not part of normal vocal maturation. Sometimes it can be a sign of a more ominous problem. If you notice similar voice symptoms in your voice (or in the voices of your family or friends), be sure to see your doctor and get it checked out.
I think it's great that David Archuleta is doing so well. He is a great example of how you don't need to have perfect vocal folds in order to be able to sing (depending on what kind of music you're wanting to perform). Good luck to him!
Brian Petty, M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Singing Voice Specialist
University of Wisconsin Voice and Swallowing Clinic
Madison, WI