Julie Andrews, known for her crystal clear, five-octave range voice which graced The Sound of Music and recent Broadway hit Victor, Victoria , has been unable to sing since an operation to remove a vocal cord nodule in 1997. Newscaster Sam Donaldson also had surgery for removal of vocal cord nodules. His was successful. Although singers are the most visible victims of vocal cord disease, vocal cord nodules and related problems cut a great silent swath across the country. CEOs can't speak to their board members.
Elderly women remain housebound, unable to speak on the phone or order food at a restaurant.
Children sit mute in classrooms. Catching the nodules early and determining their cause quickly can lessen the impact. Excessive forced use of the voice leads to degeneration of the connective tissue under the mucosa, the cords' surface lining. This becomes a bulge in the surface of the vocal cord fold, causing hoarseness. With repeated stress, the tiny bulge turns into a nodule.