Can too much talking or excessive talkativeness undermine our health? Normal people,
as one Western study found, breathe twice as much air when
they speak. That reduces their brain CO2
and O2 stores. Long conversations with others, on the phone and
excessive talkativeness can thereby cause many side effects such as,
dizziness, light-headachedness, loss of concentration, emotional
instability,
muscular tension, and abnormal posture.
Furthermore, even 10-20 minutes of continuous speaking on a cell phone resets the breathing
center to lower arterial and brain CO2 levels promoting hyperventilation, tissue
hypoxia and chronic diseases.
headace
Hollywood is a little quieter these days, as major music stars including
Adele, John Mayer, and Keith Urban have all been silenced by recent
throat surgeries. Various vocal problems—polyps, vocal cord hemorrhages,
and granuloma—have forced the singers to step out of the spotlight.
While that's a bummer for fans, it's not the worst news: You could also be at risk for similar throat troubles.
Over time, talking loudly at frequent intervals can lead to vocal cord
lesions -- one of the most common causes of voice problems, according to
the American Academy of Otolaryngology's Head and Neck Surgery
association.
The symptoms of lesions include gravelly voice tone, low pitch, breaks
in speech, airy or breathy voice, inability to sing in a high voice,
increased effort to speak or frequent throat clearing.
"If you're chronically using your voice in an abnormal way, you're
traumatizing the vocal cords and they develop nodules on them," Amin
said.
The nodules are like calluses, which in some cases require surgery. The
problem can develop in anyone, although teachers or talkatives are particularly
susceptible, Amin said.
"It's not very uncommon that people come in after a couple of years of
being hoarse and they finally decide to do something about it. It's
bothering them and it causes them pain and bothers them at work," Amin
said.
In the early stages, before the polyps harden, voice therapy can work, learn how to breathe and to reduce muscle
tension and strain when speaking.
