Clearing your throat is a pretty common thing people do to get rid of mucus or irritants, especially when allergies are in the air. But for some folks, it can turn into a tough habit to kick, causing stress and anxiety. Dr. Inna Husain, a laryngologist from Powers Health in Indiana, explained to Fox News Digital why this happens, when it’s time to seek help, and how to break the cycle.
When you clear your throat, it slams your vocal cords together. Over time, this can lead to issues like lesions, nodules, bruising, and even hemorrhages that can mess with your voice. “Those same vocal cords are used to help create sound — so if you keep slamming them, you could injure the surface area of the vocal cords,” Husain pointed out.
A visit to an ENT, or ear, nose, and throat doctor, can help you figure out what’s causing the problem. One possible culprit is something called laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR), or “silent reflux.” This condition happens when stuff from your stomach comes up into your throat, causing inflammation without the usual heartburn symptoms.
While LPR isn’t life-threatening, it can really affect your quality of life. Husain explained that the chronic irritation can make your throat extra sensitive. “Over time, people clear their throat more because they’ve reduced the threshold to trigger a throat-clearing,” she said.
Muscle memory can make the situation worse. Once you start clearing your throat a lot, you might find yourself doing it even more. This cycle of irritation leads to more mucus, making you want to clear your throat even more, which can impact your daily life.
Other things that might make you clear your throat include allergies, inflammation from sinusitis, issues with your vocal cords, aging, asthma, tracheal narrowing, and certain medications. “As we age, our vocal folds thin. That can cause an inefficient system, which can cause more sensitivity and throat clearing,” Husain remarked.
People often come to Dr. Husain with other symptoms, or because someone close to them noticed they’re clearing their throat a lot. Many assume allergies are to blame, but standalone throat clearing is rarely the only symptom of allergies. “I’ve actually seen throat-clearing irritation get worse when people start allergy pills or antihistamines without actually having an allergy,” she warned.
Figuring out why you’re clearing your throat is the first step to fixing it. This usually begins with a visit to an ENT doctor, who uses a small camera to check out your vocal cords and throat tissue. “We try to identify if there’s a root cause, if there’s something very obvious,” noted Husain.
If there’s no clear cause, the doctor will look at overall laryngeal hygiene, asking questions like, “Is there a source of inflammation? Can we make the larynx or the voice box happier?” Research has shown that keeping your vocal cords hydrated can help with irritation.
Some tips for reducing irritation include avoiding smoking, cutting back on acidic foods, and using saline nebulizers. Trying different behaviors like sipping water, swallowing, humming, or blowing air instead of throat-clearing can also help your throat heal. “Over time, that helps the larynx reset itself,” Husain added.
