Something strange has happened to our Z-Dub's voice since his tonsil surgery on Saturday. He has suddenly become squeaky and, dare I say, kind of girlie. At first we chalked it up to a post-surgery attempt to get attention and sympathy. It's been almost a week and he still has this squeaky little mouse voice, so now I'm concerned. So much so that I did a little research online.
I was shocked to discover that tonsillectomy can in fact cause both temporary and permanent change to voice pitch. Our doctor never discussed or even mentioned this to us before or after surgery. According to the experts all over the Internets, the causes vary and include:
- If they were large, removal of the tonsils can change the resonance of speech (voice would be the same as that's produced by the larynx).
- If the adenoids were removed as well as the tonsils (which is what Z-Dub went through), then there could be some velopharyngeal incompetence and hypernasality.
- Muscle tension dysphonia.
- Vocal cord damage from intubation injury.
Whatever the cause, I'm fine with the temporary change as we can deal with our little mouse for a while longer. I read somewhere that it can take up to 12 weeks to go back to normal. However, a permanent change would be a little too hard to swallow, especially if he continues to sound like a eunuch.
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