#electrolarynx

@halcy0ng1rl posted about some things the other day that led me to learn the term “voice box machine,” which is new to me. Specifically, about how Hatsune Miku inspired some recent fan art, which reminded me of a funny TikTok called Hatsune Miku vs Trent Reznor Ultimate Rap Battle.

(Miku is the mascot of a Japanese Vocaloid singing synthesizer software. She’s a little anime girl with green pigtails. She’s become a pop star in her own right and there’s a huge online community about making music through her. It’s a rabbit hole—look it up if you’re unfamiliar.)

Anyway. I googled voice box machine and it’s also referred to as an electrolarynx, which is a cool blend of human and machine, as a larynx is the term for the human voice box, and also plays a role in breathing and swallowing.

It’s used in patients who have lost theirs due to things like cancer.

If you go to the Wiki link above, there’s a lot more info and some audio samples.

Anyway, I thought it was funny that the “Voice Quality Symbol” for the term that refers to the voice/sound produced by the electolarynx is the backwards N like in the Nine Inch Nails logo.

Also: one of the worst pains I’ve ever experienced was when I had laryngitis, an inflammation of the larynx. Couldn’t drink or swallow, felt like broken glass. To get it diagnosed, a doctor had to swab my throat with a soft cotton Q-Tip. I felt every last fiber and nearly fell to the floor.

Funny that some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced, even now as a person with chronic pain, was caused by a soft piece of cotton.

Okay So I’ve been thinking a lot about how, obviously, the Half Life universe has better advanced technology than ours does as well as being able to recycle Combine tech and how that would come in handy for the characters with hearing and speach dissabilities so............... I’d like to think their tech would be more compact and/or have a better functionality for it’s users!

And with Gordon being mute; (or in the case of my Gordon having “muscle tension dysphonia”) advanced, slim fitting and comfrotable Electrolarynx machines would be very useful when his hands are otherwise occupied!

(Whilst we do have wearable Electrolarynx machines theyre quite bulky and more advanced, smaller and better ways to transfer vibrations to speech are still being looked at and developed today such as things like the WAGT, a “wearable artificial graphene throat” thing that applies like a temporary tattoo which is pretty neat!!)

If you’ve seen any of my other pics of my HL2 Gordon you’d notice he has hearing aids of which I’ve always drawn to look quite small and sleek! Because I’d like to think people in the fields of the Half Life universe have managed to design a snug fitting machine that has less of a chance of falling out once put in (considering all the running and fighting Gordon does, Eli, Alyx and Kleiner would happily tinker with the things to help once they become loose-) It has a little dial on the front of the bit inside his ear to mess with frequency and fits over his ear like a fake earing clip.

-

I’ll highlight here again my HC’s that my Gordon in particular has  “muscle tension dysphonia” (which is when you dont use your breath to properly energize your voice, or your throat muscles may be too tight when you speak so when talking it makes his voice sound strained or hoarse and can make it uncomfortable to talk...) and- he is partially deaf and uses hearing aids to just generally hear things! (Without them in he can still hear kinda but it’s very muffled and indistinguishable unless someones like RIGHT up against his ear and speaking very very loud lol)

Stage III and stage IV throat cancers are most likely to come back after preliminary treatment than earlier-stage cancers.

The stages vary from 0 to 4:

Your doctor will tell you what phase of throat cancer you have as part of the diagnosis procedure.

The stage explains how prevalent or advanced the cancer is. Determining the stage helps physicians discuss the extent of the cancer to you.

Your physician will designate a phase to the cancer after your biopsy results or imaging test outcomes become available.

There are five phases of throat cancer, beginning at absolutely no and going up to 4.

Stage 0: The tumor is only on the leading layer of cells of the afflicted part of the throat.

Stage 1: The tumor is less than 2 cm and limited to the part of the throat where it began.

Stage 2: The tumor is between 2 and 4 cm or may have grown into a neighboring location.

Stage 3: The tumor is larger than 4 cm or has actually become other structures in the throat or has actually infected one lymph node.

Stage 4: The growth has spread to the lymph nodes or far-off organs.

These are the basic stages of throat cancer:

Stage 0 Throat Cancer.

Called carcinoma in situ, this is the really beginning of the scale.

It describes irregular cells in the lining of the throat that have the prospective to end up being cancer.

Stage I Throat Cancer.

Stage I describes an extremely early stage of cancer.

The tumor is not more than two centimeters, and the cancer has actually not reached the lymph nodes.

Stage II Throat Cancer.

Stage II describes a tumor that is larger than two centimeters but not more than 4 centimeters.

Stage II cancer has not reached the lymph nodes.

Stage III Throat Cancer.

Stage III throat cancer describes cancer that either is larger than four centimeters or has spread to a.

lymph node on the same side of the neck as the tumor.

That lymph node is also smaller than 3 centimeters.

Stage IV Throat Cancer.

Stage IV is the most-advanced phase of throat cancer. 

The tumor might be any size, but it has actually infected:

close by tissue, such as the neck, trachea, thyroid, esophagus, jaw, mouth, or other places.

one big lymph node (more than three centimeters in size) on the very same side of the neck as the growth, multiple lymph nodes of any size on the exact same side of the neck as the tumor, or one lymph node of any size on the side of the neck opposite the tumor.

far-off parts of the body beyond the throat, such as the lungs. 

Throat cancer may be stage IV when it is first identified.

Stage IV throat cancer can likewise be persistent throat cancer (cancer that has actually returned after treatment).

The cancer may come back in the part of the body where it initially established (regional recurrence), in the lymph nodes (regional relapse), or in another part of the body (far-off reoccurrence).

Read the full article here: https://labextrade.com/types-of-throat-cancer-symptoms-risk-factors-and-preventive-measures/

If you would like to join our FREE Post-Vocal Surgery Support Group, you can do so here: www.facebook.com/groups/labexsupportforlaryngectomee/  You  may want to check out our YouTube Channels as well: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa-6497yfIbbZbhUoqlKYvQ  

You can learn more about throat cancer surgeries in our other article here: https://labextrade.com/learn-more-about-the-different-throat-cancer-operations/ 

Types of throat cancer, symptoms. Risk factors and preventive measures

Throat cancer is a general term that applies to cancer that develops in the throat( pharyngeal cancer) or in the voice box (laryngeal cancer).

The voice and the throat box are carefully linked, with the voice box located simply below the throat.

Though many throat cancers involve the exact same types of cells, specific terms are used to distinguish the part of the throat where cancer originated. Nasopharyngeal cancer begins in the nasopharynx – the part of your throat just behind your nose.

Oropharyngeal cancer begins in the oropharynx– the part of your throat right behind your mouth that includes your tonsils.

Hypopharyngeal cancer (laryngopharyngeal cancer) starts in the hypopharynx (laryngopharynx) the lower part of your throat, just above your esophagus and windpipe.

Glottic cancer starts in the vocal cords.

Supraglottic cancer starts in the upper portion of the throat and consists of cancer that impacts the epiglottis, which is a piece of cartilage that obstructs food from going into your windpipe.

Subglottic cancer begins in the lower portion of your voice box, listed below your vocal cords.

Read the full article here: https://labextrade.com/types-of-throat-cancer-symptoms-risk-factors-and-preventive-measures/

If you would like to join our FREE Post-Vocal Surgery Support Group, you can do so here: www.facebook.com/groups/labexsupportforlaryngectomee/  You  may want to check out our YouTube Channels as well: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa-6497yfIbbZbhUoqlKYvQ  

You can learn more about throat cancer surgeries in our other article here: https://labextrade.com/learn-more-about-the-different-throat-cancer-operations/ 

Types of throat cancer, symptoms. Risk factors and preventive measures