There is good advice above. Heed it!

Now, I speak with the voice of experience:

1. Get to a specialist, not just a GP. See a laryngologist. Then, do what he/she says.

2. The laryngologist will undoubtedly tell you to rest your voice. This may mean don't sing, don't talk, don't even whisper. Now, fasten your seat belt:   you may have to remain silent for as long as six weeks.

3. Then (still, always pending what the laryngologist says), before you start talking or singing again, get to a voice teacher (the laryngologist may be able to recommend one) to slowly and carefully rebuild your voice.

This is serious! Don't mess around with it. I know. I've been there.

Despite the fact that I had some very good voice training early on from an excellent teacher, I got careless, overused my voice (singing every night, including singing over a bad cold—DUMB!) and wound up where you seem to be. So—I went back to my voice teacher and she shipped me off to a laryngologist. He sprayed my throat with something, and told me that I had acute laryngitis. I would have to stay completely silent for four to six weeks until the inflammation went away. I went back to him every week so he could examine my vocal folds with a laryngoscope, and it was six weeks before he turned me loose. But he told me not to talk yet, but to go back to my voice teacher right away and have her rebuild my voice.

That was no fun at all, because I had to cancel singing engagements I had lined up and guitar lessons I was teaching. My income! But it was either that or jeopardize my singing career.

I followed that program to the letter and I got my voice back, better than ever. I'm now in my mid-seventies, and my singing voice is as good as it ever was. And that's because I learned—the hard way—to remember to use good vocal technique as I was originally taught, and not do anything dumb and abuse my voice.

I repeat: THIS IS SERIOUS! Do whatever it takes to get it fixed now! Forget everything else and DO it!

And GOOD LUCK!!!

Don Firth

P. S. Keep in touch. Let us know how it's going.