Glottic Insufficiency

Any space between your vocal folds (i.e., if they don’t meet in the middle) can result in a change in your voice.  This space between your vocal folds is termed “glottic insufficiency” and is often the first reason that singers present for evaluation.

Glottic insufficiency can also be a normal consequence of aging.  Atrophy, or thinning, of vocal muscles results in the vocal folds being lax, causing a gap between them. This results in a fluttering voice quality.  Pitch becomes difficult to control and vocal quality suffers.

A gap between the vocal folds may also be caused by a partial weakness of a vocal nerve, called a vocal paresis.  A total weakness of a vocal cords is called a vocal paralysis and results in severe glottic insufficiency.

Regardless of the cause, injection of the vocal folds often results in significant improvement in voice quality.  When you come for evaluation, we can determine if you are a candidate for this.