How Is The Cause Of Hoarseness Found?
A complete evaluation of the entire head and neck areas is very important. Examining the ear may find ear fluid which causes a hearing loss and leads the child to speak louder and irritate the voice box. Examination of the nose may show evidence of allergies, sinus infections and other causes of nasal blockage, which may lead to postnasal drip and mouth breathing, both of which contribute to voice box irritation. Examination of the mouth may reveal enlarged tonsils, which muffle the voice and is mistakenly thought of as hoarseness. Neck masses and scars may give clues about other possible diseases or potential for nerve injury. Fiberoptic flexible endoscopy is a technique using a flexible telescope to look at your child’s voice box in the doctor’s office using local anesthesia. It is useful to assess the voice and look for diseases in children over the age of 4 years. In younger children, this procedure is mostly a tool to diagnose diseases because younger children tend to not cooperat
