Bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury would most likely cause which voice change?

Bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury would most likely cause which voice change?

• A. Aphonia
• B. Hoarseness
• C. Stridor
• D. Dysphagia

Answer: (A)

Bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury paralyzes the intrinsic muscles of both vocal cords, so they cannot move to adduct or vibrate for phonation. Without the cords closing together and vibrating as air passes, speech cannot be produced, resulting in a complete loss of voice (aphonia). While airway narrowing from fixed cords can cause stridor, the typical voice change highlighted by this scenario is the inability to phonate. Dysphagia isn’t the primary issue here, since this nerve mainly controls laryngeal movement and voice production rather than swallowing mechanics.

Bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury paralyzes the intrinsic muscles of both vocal cords, so they cannot move to adduct or vibrate for phonation. Without the cords closing together and vibrating as air passes, speech cannot be produced, resulting in a complete loss of voice (aphonia). While airway narrowing from fixed cords can cause stridor, the typical voice change highlighted by this scenario is the inability to phonate. Dysphagia isn’t the primary issue here, since this nerve mainly controls laryngeal movement and voice production rather than swallowing mechanics.