How to Cure a Hoarse Voice

Soothing Your Vocal Cords

Drink hot fluids. Warm herbal tea and other hot drinks will soothe and relax your vocal cords. This, in turn, will allow your voice to return to normal as quickly as possible. If you don’t like herbal tea, try a mug of hot apple cider or hot chocolate. Chamomile tea, or any tea designed to soothe your throat, will be especially helpful for a hoarse voice. Avoid spicy herbal teas with ginger or lemon. Avoid caffeinated tea or coffee when soothing your vocal cords. The caffeine in the tea will dehydrate your body, and could worsen the hoarseness of your voice.

Add a few drops of honey into the herbal tea. This will create an extra-soothing drink. Honey has soothing properties of its own, and is commonly used to treat a sore throat or hoarse voice. You could also eat a few spoonfuls of pure honey. However, since honey is thick and tough to swallow, adding it to tea is the most common option. If you don’t like tea, try sucking on a piece of hard candy made with honey. Or, add a spoonful to a mug of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Gargle warm salt water. Add 1 pinch of salt to a mug full of warm water. Take a mouthful of the water, and gargle it in the back of your throat for about 30 seconds. Gargling with salt water will help moisten and soothe your throat, and help your voice sound less hoarse. Spit the water out once you’ve finished.

Suck on a piece of hard candy or throat lozenge. Hard candy or cough drops will soothe and moisten your scratchy throat. This will reduce any pain or discomfort, and help you voice sound less hoarse. Hard candies made with menthol may help by coating your throat and returning the sound of your voice to normal. The flavor of the candy or lozenge doesn’t matter. Avoid spicy hard candy (including cinnamon-flavored candies), as the spice may cause stomach acid to rise up in your throat.

Set up a humidifier in your room at night. A humidifier will project cool, humid air into the room while you sleep. As you inhale the humid air, your throat and vocal cords will moisten. This will reduce the effects of laryngitis and help your voice sound normal in the morning. If you don’t own a humidifier, you can purchase one at any department store or home-goods store. You can also buy a humidifier through major online retailers. Either a cool- or a hot-air humidifier will be beneficial to your throat and help cure a hoarse voice.

Modifying Your Lifestyle

Speak as little as possible when your voice is hoarse. Your vocal cords will naturally heal themselves over time. Encourage this process by resting your voice. If you use your voice rigorously during an episode of laryngitis—e.g., shouting, loudly singing, etc.—you’ll risk permanent damage to your vocal cords. You may need to let friends and family members know that you can’t speak loudly, so they aren’t confused.

Avoid eating spicy foods. Although they’re delicious, spicy foods can have a negative effect on the vocal cords. Spicy foods will stimulate stomach acid, and cause it to move up into your throat. Damage to your vocal cords over time can lead to chronic laryngitis. Excess consumption of spicy foods also commonly causes heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Both of these conditions can lead to chronic laryngitis.

Limit alcohol and caffeine consumption. Both alcohol and caffeine dehydrate your body. General dehydration can lead to dry vocal cords. This will lead to cases of acute laryngitis. To keep your body—including your vocal cords—properly hydrated, an adult man should drink about 15.5 cups (3.7 L) of water each day. An adult woman should drink about 11.5 cups (2.7 L) of water each day.

Quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking (in addition to its many other health concerns) will dry out and irritate your throat and vocal cords. This, in turn, can lead to frequent cases of laryngitis. Even secondhand smoke can dry your vocal cords and cause a hoarse voice. Long-term smoking can permanently damage the larynx and cause the notorious “smoker’s voice.”

Seeing Your Doctor

Schedule an appointment if your laryngitis lasts more than 2 weeks. While a hoarse voice is usually a minor—and temporary—inconvenience, in some instances it can be a sign of a more serious medical condition. If your voice is hoarse and scratchy for 2 weeks or longer, make an appointment with your primary care physician. Your doctor may refer you to an ears, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, depending on the nature and severity of your laryngitis.

Describe your symptoms to your doctor. Tell the doctor about any symptoms that have accompanied your hoarse voice. Symptoms like a sore throat, dry cough, or tickle in the back of your throat aren’t concerning. Potentially problematic symptoms include: Coughing up blood. Struggling to breathe. Having a high, long-lasting fever. Difficulty swallowing.

Ask your doctor about a diagnosis. Once you’ve described the symptoms of your laryngitis, the doctor may need to perform a few tests before providing a diagnosis. Depending upon your symptoms, the doctor may insert a small, flexible laryngoscope into the back of your throat. The doctor may also need to perform a biopsy to obtain a tissue sample from your vocal cords, which can be sent for laboratory analysis. In some cases, frequent hoarseness can be caused by the growth of small polyps or benign tumors on the vocal cords. Your doctor will diagnose you with either acute laryngitis (a short condition caused by vocal cord strain or infection) or chronic laryngitis (a lasting condition caused by long-term exposure to irritants).

Talk with your doctor about treatment options. Most treatments for laryngitis involve treating the various symptoms (e.g., rest your voice, stop smoking). If you have developed vocal polyps or other tumors on your larynx, your doctor will suggest surgery to remove them. Lab tests may indicate that you have larynx cancer. In this scenario, your doctor will advise you about how the cancer can best be treated or removed.