Question

Certain illnesses, like strep throat, inflame your vocal cords, causing them to swell. How does this affect the pitch of your voice? Explain. If a cold gives you a stuffed-up nose, it changes the way your voice sounds, even if your vocal cords are not affected. Explain why this is so.

Answer 1

Certain illness, like strep throat, inflame your vocal cords and causing them to swell , which affects pitch of your voice because anything which interfere with the shape and size of the vocal cord (caused by infection) , the affected part produces more mucus and get accumulated over there , when the person try to make sounds, alteration in shape and size or excessive mucus production started creating obstacles which interfere with voice production, but when person still try to make sound ,then low pitched sounds are produced.

Our voice gets changed when we are affected with common cold because common cold causes inflammation to the surrounding parts of the vocal cord and it becomes thick, due to alteration in shape of the surrounding parts ,thick areas near vocal cords does'nt vibrate fast and slow vibration gives low pitched sound, also limit in airflow arises due to swelling and mucus production which furthur bring change in voice even if vocal cords are not affected.

Narrow airway passage due to inflammation doesn't allow vocal cords expand fully which leads to change in voice.