Hello,

i had a serious bout of bacterial bronchitis over christmas 2003 that had me coughing severely, and very often. It was a dry, barking cough and was by far the worst I ever experienced. My throat was itchy all the time during this period. After about a week of this, I lost my voice entirely... Which has never happened before. I am a 35 year old with an alto range, normally great control and great pitch. I have never had any vocal problems, and I primarily use my voice to sing and record. Now, I find that I still have no upper voice (airy and hoarse) and I lack control with my lower range. Also, my range isn't as good as it used to be and my throat spasms into a cough while singing. It took about 1 month to recover my lower voice so that I could speak well.

Is it possible I have permanent vocal chord damage? It is going on 4 1/2 months now. I am scared and want to see a doctor, but having never done this before, I have no idea what expert to call. Can you advice and tell me if any of this sounds familiar?

Thanks so much,

jlc777