Anyone who listens to National Public Radio during the daytime may know a lot about "dysphonia" if they listen to the Diane Rehm show. She has this problem, which took a long time to diagnose, though everyone who listened to her heard it coming on. As it happens, one of the specialists in this she ran into years later was a fan of hers and always wondered if she knew what she had.

The treatment she goes in for is an injection of the botulism toxin into the vocal chords. It can be painful, and it isn't always as effective after each treatment. She usually disappears for a few days and comes back sounding much better. Her voice seizes up and is quite scratchy. Like some people have said in discussing it, as she works to get the words out, they want to "reach out and pull the words from her."

SRS