The next day, Tony joined a Bloody Mary brunch with the gang. Only he wasn’t as talkative as the day before. His voice was a lot deeper, and he could barely get the pitch up to a point where he could be heard in the noisy restaurant.
Welcome to the club, Tony. You’re now part of the hoarse set, which is quite different from the horsey set at the country clubs.
Everyone experiences a hoarse voice on occasion. Whether it’s caused by overuse, like Tony’s yelling at a sports event, or arrives with a cold or some other issue with the voice box, it typically creeps in without much notice and departs just as quickly.
Most hoarseness is a minor issue. However, some hoarseness may be an indication of other, more serious problems than shouting too much at a football game. The problems can range from allergies to cancer, and if hoarseness extends for more than a few days, then a doctor should examine the condition.
How We Speak
A human speaking voice is determined when air from the lungs is pushed out through the vocal cords in the voice box. Those cords consist of mucous membranes in two folds that cover local muscles surrounded by cartilage. When air passes over the cords, they vibrate and produce the sounds that allow humans to speak.