If you read Little Red Riding Hood aloud to a child, you probably make Grandma’s voice weak and quavering to sound “old.” But the truth is you can have a strong voice at any age—unless you have a specific health problem…one that affects your whole health, not just your vocal chords.
In a recent study of 420 seniors (average age 72) with dysphonia, the medical term for decreased ability to produce a normal voice, South Korean researchers found that, compared to statistical averages, they were 300% more likely to have a particular medical condition—low thyroid function.
The condition, called hypothyroidism, is easy to overlook because many of the symptoms—constipation, fatigue and sensitivity to cold—are also symptoms associated with aging. While the new study doesn’t prove causation, it does suggest that in an otherwise apparently healthy 60-plus person, a weakening voice could be a clue—perhaps the only clue—to this health-compromising condition.
So if you have a “grandmotherly” or “grandfatherly” voice or know someone who does, speak up—to a doctor. Ask him or her to test your thyroid function. (If you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism, learn what you can do in addition to taking thyroid hormones in Bottom Line’s article Fight Thyroid Disease Naturally.)