How do voices age

For example, chronic fatigue and neurological problems can cause a shaking, or tremor, in the voice. The voice can also change because of benign nodules, polyps or malignant lesions cancer , or if one of the vocal folds becomes paralyzed. This can lead to depression and affect overall health. Your voice may change twice in your lifetime — first, due to hormones and, later, to aging.

Learn more about vaccine availability. Advertising Policy. You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter. Related Articles. Is My Period Normal? The worst thing you can do is isolate yourself and stay quiet. Many people with voice problems can benefit from professional help.

A comprehensive voice evaluation can rule out any other causes for voice issues like tumors or lesions. Your vocal specialist may suggest voice therapy , which is like physical therapy for the voice to improve its health, function, quality, and stamina.

Voice therapy is typically covered by insurance, but check with your provider to confirm. Duke Header Image Link. Stories and news about treatment advances that improve your health and quality of life. Your Voice Matters. Be Aware. Maintain Your Overall Health. Both boys and girls experience voice changes as they grow older, but girls' voices get only a little deeper.

A boy's voice, on the other hand, may change quite a bit — from sounding like a little kid to sounding like somebody's dad! How does this happen? The larynx say: LAIR - inks , also known as your voice box, actually gets bigger during puberty. The larynx, located in your throat, is a tube-shaped piece of cartilage — the same stuff your ears and your nose are made from. One of its jobs is to let you talk, sing, hum, yell, laugh, and make all sorts of noises.

When a boy reaches puberty, his body begins making lots of testosterone say: tes-TOSS-tuh-rone. The testosterone causes his larynx to grow and his vocal cords to get longer and thicker. Vocal cords are thin muscles that stretch across the larynx like rubber bands.

When you speak, air rushes from your lungs and makes your vocal cords vibrate, producing the sound of your voice. It's the same process with vocal cords. Before a boy reaches puberty, his larynx is pretty small and his vocal cords are kind of small and thin. That's why his voice is higher than an adult's. But as he goes through puberty, the larynx gets bigger and the vocal cords grow longer and become thicker.

Also, the facial bones begin to grow. Cavities in the sinuses, the nose, and the back of the throat grow bigger, creating more space in the face — which gives the voice more room to resonate.

As a boy's body adjusts to this changing equipment, his voice may "crack" or "break. When the larynx is finished growing, your son's voice won't make unpredictable squeak or cracking sounds. Those croaks and squeaks in a boy's voice are just a part of this normal and natural stage of growth.