Psychosomatics of laryngitis
Laryngitis is inflammation of the voice box: your voice goes hoarse or disappears, your throat feels scratchy and you keep wanting to clear it. It is most often caused by a cold or flu, less often by allergy, reflux, a long cough or overusing your voice. It usually gets better by itself in 1-2 weeks if you rest your voice and drink plenty of water. Difficulty breathing is urgent. The Ladder method adds questions about the words you do not say out loud.
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When to see a doctor
Start with a general practitioner: they will look at your throat and refer you to an ENT doctor if needed. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you are not better after 2 weeks or laryngitis keeps coming back. If your voice has been hoarse for more than a month, you need an ENT doctor (MedlinePlus).
In the Ladder method
In the Ladder method laryngitis is not explained as "you swallowed a hurt", and you are not to blame for losing your voice. The causes are known: a virus, allergy, reflux, strain on the voice. Questions to yourself belong alongside treatment, not instead of it, and your voice still needs rest.
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In the method the voice fits the image of the right to speak: to say "no", to ask, to disagree. It is an image, not the cause of the illness, and it does not replace an examination by a doctor.
On the ladder this shows up as the steps "I'll stay quiet, it's easier" and "they won't hear me anyway". You can work through them while your voice recovers.
These are questions for reflection, not an explanation of what causes the condition and not a treatment.
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How it shows up
Book a doctor’s appointment if you notice:
- A hoarse or husky voice
- Losing your voice completely
- A scratchy, sore throat
- A dry, irritating cough
- Always wanting to clear your throat
- Sometimes a temperature and a runny nose, as with a cold
What medicine knows
Laryngitis is irritation and swelling of the larynx, where the vocal cords are. Signs: a hoarse voice, sometimes losing your voice completely, an irritating cough, always needing to clear your throat, a sore throat. It starts suddenly and gets worse over the first 3 days (NHS).
Laryngitis is most often caused by a virus, for example with a cold or flu. Other causes according to the NHS: an allergy to dust or smoke, acid reflux, a long-lasting cough, a habit of always clearing your throat. MedlinePlus adds overusing your voice: long shouting, singing, loud talking.
Laryngitis usually gets better by itself in 1-2 weeks. Antibiotics are usually not needed because the cause is usually a virus (MedlinePlus). What helps: talking less, drinking plenty of fluids, keeping the air moist, gargling with salt water. Do not shout and do not whisper: whispering also strains the vocal cords. Do not smoke, avoid smoke and dust, cut down on caffeine and alcohol (NHS).
If hoarseness lasts longer than a month, especially if you smoke, MedlinePlus advises seeing an ENT doctor. A doctor makes the diagnosis, not a picture on the internet.
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Frequently asked questions
Can laryngitis be caused by nerves?
Nerves do not cause laryngitis: most often it is a virus with a cold, less often allergy, reflux or overusing your voice. But when you are anxious your voice can shake and go hoarse, and shouting and long talking strain the vocal cords. Treatment is a doctor's job.
What does laryngitis mean in psychosomatics?
Laryngitis has no proven "meaning". In the Ladder method a lost voice becomes a reason to ask yourself what you do not say out loud and where you stay quiet to avoid arguing. It is a question to yourself, not a diagnosis.
When does laryngitis need an ambulance?
If breathing is difficult, noisy or whistling. If swallowing is very painful, you need a doctor the same day. If you have difficulty breathing, call an ambulance (103).
Related topics
Psychosomatics does not replace tests and treatment. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis.