A member asked:
Does recurrent laryngeal nerve damage continue to make voice worse over time if surgery declined (but good voice hygiene is practiced)?
9 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
Usually not: Usually after recurrent laryngeal nerve injury the voice gets a bit better with time as the "good" vocal cord tries to move over to the "bad" cord. If your voice is getting worse something else might be going in an you should have an ENT doctor take a look.
Answered 6/10/2014
5.9k views
No: Generally the voice quality will improve. The working vocal cord hypertrophies over time and this makes up for the lost mobility of the vocal cord associated with the injured nerve.
Answered 7/5/2012
5.9k views
Possibly: If your nerve is irreversibly damaged, your voice may get worse with time. As the vocal muscles atrophy with time, your vocal cord can become "bowed" and lead to a more breathy or hoarse voice. Voice therapy can help somewhat.
Answered 3/29/2015
5.9k views
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