Among the many things you can lose in old age—your hair, your keys, your mind, the proverbial it—you can lose your voice, and I seem to be losing mine. It’s been over a year now, and it cracks, rasps, shifts to a wheeze or a hoarse whisper, rattles, and otherwise fails in a general way without warning. Noticeably. Every day. Like a second puberty. I have consulted an ENT PA who, having ruled out throat and esophageal cancers, conjectured acid reflux and prescribed omeprazole—the antacid—which seems to have improved, but not restored my voice, at least temporarily. Internet research confirms that hoarseness, chronic laryngitis, dysphonia can be a symptom of old age. Few of the lifestyle causes of age-related dysphonia—presbyphonia—have been pre-eminent in my own lifestyle, i.e. smoking, alcohol, fatty food, so my recommended lifestyle changes are limited. “[A]void chocolate.” Not going to happen. Hydrate and eliminate caffeine? Hmm, when most of my hydration is accomplished by means of a caffeinated beverage—tea or cola—I find myself in a bit of a bind. And finally, a little surprising, “a common culprit for age-related voice changes may sound surprising: not talking enough. . . . a lot of retired patients come to realize that since leaving the workforce, they don’t use their voice as often. Underuse can contribute to the vocal cord muscles’ decline.”
The notion of talking more, exercising one’s squawk box, does not appeal. I’ve never been particularly fond of my voice and even less, of talking, so the prospect of speechlessness, while having real disadvantages, seems also, in some ways, an opportunity, an excuse for keeping quiet in these ranting, vociferous days.
And one can still write to say what one has to say.
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