Asthma and the Voice
Asthma is a chronic disease affecting the
bronchial/breathing tubes of the lungs. Asthmatic
symptoms cause narrowing and irritation of the
bronchial tubes, muscle spasms, mucosal
inflammation, and mucus accumulation.
Symptoms can be:
 Shortness of breath
 Chest tightness
 Wheezing
 Coughing
These symptoms can be harmful to the voice by
causing destructive vocal behaviours or irritating
and drying out the throat. This can lead to changes
in the sound of your voice.
How asthma medication can affect the voice:
Asthma medication, such as steroid inhalers may
affect your voice. These inhalers tend to be dry
powders which can stick to the lining of your
mouth, throat and airway, absorbing the natural
moisture and drying out the tissues.
You may be experiencing hoarseness, muscle
weakness, or loss of voice, throat irritation, cough,
or oral thrush as a result of using inhaled steroids.
Asthma medications dry out the protective mucosal
layer covering the vocal folds. Vocal cords must be
well-lubricated to function properly; if the mucosa
becomes dry, voice will be more difficult. This is
why hydration is an important component of vocal
health.
How to reduce asthma medication drying out
your throat:
 Consult your GP or asthma nurse and
review your asthma medications
o A change in medication, dose or
strength may be an option
 Review your inhaler technique
o Poor technique results in larger
deposits of the inhaled steroid on
your tongue and mouth, causing
greater feeling of dry and irritated
throat
 Look into getting a spacer (volumatic
device) to use with aerosol based
steroid inhalers
 Rinse your mouth with water, gargle
and spit after inhaling doses of steroids
 Inhale steam to hydrate your throat
o Lean over a hot mug of water
with a towel over your head
o Use a steam room
o Use a steam inhaling device
In addition to these measures above, you
could try:
 Constant hydration – sips of water
throughout the day
 Fine water spray to maintain moisture
around the mouth and pharynx
 Moisture retentive mouthwash,
toothpaste and chewing gum
 Moisture retentive lozenges, e.g. Salix
pastilles
How to stop asthmatic cough damaging your
voice:
Asthma can increase the mucus accumulation
within the lungs. In order to clear the lungs of
these secretions it is common for people to
resort to extreme bouts of coughing.
This is not the most effective way to deal with
the secretions.
Coughing for extended periods causes
increased muscle tone in the lungs and can
trigger bronchial spasm, which in turn causes
more secretions to form in the lungs.
Coughing hard to eject secretions causes the
vocal folds to be brought together harshly,
which can lead to trauma to the vocal folds and
voice quality change.
To prevent coughing and throat clearing, you
can:
 Hydrate your throat – sip water
frequently, especially when you notice
you want to cough
 Turn your head to the left or right or
down, tucking your chin in
 Use strong pursed lip breathing
 Swallow any secretions where possible
 Try the active cycle of breathing (ask for
a leaflet)
Date Published: May 2017
Date of Review: June 2026
Responsibility: Speech & Language Therapy
Reference No: PIL/CG/0452
Version: 1
How to contact us
Speech and Language Therapy Departments
Office hours: Monday-Friday 9am - 4.30pm
University Hospital of North Durham
Telephone: 0191 3332591
Darlington Memorial Hospital
Telephone: 01325 743152
Useful contacts
Contact details
Central Appointments Bureau
Speech & Language Therapy
Bishop Auckland General Hospital
Cockton Hill Road
Bishop Auckland
County Durham
Tel: 01388 455200
Pleasehelp
Please helpus:
us:
We need your comments, concerns complaints and
We need your comments, concerns complaints and
compliments to deliver the best service possible.
compliments to deliver the best service possible.
Please let us know by speaking to a member of our
Please let us know by speaking to a member of our
staff. We learn from your feedback and use the
staff. We learn from your feedback and use the
information to improve and develop our services.
information to improve and develop our services.
If you would like to talk to someone outside the
If you would like to talk to someone outside the
service contact the Patient Experience Team on
service contact the Patient Experience Team on
0800 783 5774, or email cdda-
0800 783 5774, or email cdda-
tr.PatientExperienceCDDFT@nhs.net.
tr.PatientExperienceCDDFT@nhs.net.
We can make this information available in Braille,
We can make this information available in Braille,
large print, audio or other languages on request.
large print, audio or other languages on request.