A change in voice or a sore throat can be more than just a seasonal irritant, say experts. But traditional diagnostic methods are invasive, while artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help detect possible problems without the discomfort.
According to Dr. Manoj Kumar Lath of Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneswar, persistent voice changes can indicate problems with the vocal cords triggered by chronic overuse, smoking, acid reflux, allergies, trauma, or growths such as nodules and polyps. People with conditions like asthma or bronchitis, especially those frequently using inhalers, are also at higher risk for inflammation in the voice box. If voice disturbances persist more than five days, he advises consulting an ENT specialist for direct examination and proper identification of the cause.
Treatments vary depending on the diagnosis: absolute voice rest is essential for healing, antibiotics or enzymes may be prescribed for infection or swelling, and medicines like pantoprazole help manage acid reflux. But it's lifestyle changes that are crucial—early dinners, walking after meals, avoiding tight clothes, and abstaining from smoking and alcohol. In cases involving nodules or polyps, minimally invasive endolaryngeal surgery followed by speech therapy might be necessary for long-term vocal health.
Dr. Deviprasad, ENT consultant at KMC Hospital, Mangalore, lists thyroid dysfunction as a common suspect for changes in voice. However, only significant enlargement, cancer, or severe hormone imbalance affect the voice. He insists that any change lasting longer than two weeks, or those occurring without infection, warrants a specialist consultation.
Daily care measures such as staying hydrated, practising voice rest, and breaking habits like shouting, barking cough, or frequent throat clearing are also crucial.
Dr. Himani Indeewar, an ENT and Head and Neck Oncology consultant at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, identifies further causes: acute laryngitis, vocal abuse, allergies, and even compressive thyroid growths or post-surgical nerve involvement. She stresses vigilance for changes due to reflux, infection, dehydration, and poor vocal hygiene. If voice symptoms don’t improve within four to six weeks despite these measures, definitive medical consultation is needed.
Research published in Frontiers in Digital Health details how AI and ML algorithms now analyse changes in voice quality to detect medical conditions far earlier than traditional methods. Acoustic features such as harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), pitch (fundamental frequency), jitter, shimmer, and speech tempo are scrutinised to reveal patterns like pre-symptomatic vocal fold lesions or shifts seen with laryngeal cancer. Meanwhile, vocal fluctuations such as pitch variability, speech rate, pause duration, and coherence are being mapped to mental health states and cognitive disorders including depression, anxiety, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.
These AI-powered insights promise simple, remote, and scalable diagnostic possibilities for conditions that for now rely on costly, invasive tests.
Despite these technological breakthroughs, experts caution that the field faces real-world barriers. The rapid evolution of voice AI has outpaced the establishment of uniform protocols for data collection and analysis.
Reviews in Frontiers press for master protocols to improve consistency and reproducibility, addressing issues like background noise, device variability, and population diversity in diagnostic models. There are also ethical challenges such as privacy, algorithmic bias, and regulatory approval that need to be addressed to ensure the responsible use of voice-based diagnostics.
While the promise of digital biomarkers grows, the medical community continues to stress the importance of clinical wisdom. ENT specialists urge vigilance and early action for persistent voice changes, combining specialist diagnosis and evidence-based AI tools to enable earlier, more equitable care.