HOARSENESS in my VOICE or LARYINGITIS

First off, I am a smoker. I usually smoke a pack a day. I do have copd but not advanced-YET. My question, is can my husband's heavy smoking affect my voice? He has adv anced stage 4 lung cancer and advanced copd. Every day he smokes almost 4 packs of cigarettes a day since he has been home bound. Every evening, my voice starts to get a little hoarse. Believe me, I am not blaming him, but I do wonder if his smoking is affecting my voice. I usually am not hoarse by the end of the day. This is something new. I also have noticed that I am wheezing a lot more. Using my inhaler more than ususal. His smoking has doubled since he found out about the cancer. He is not able to do much except sit on his recliner in the living room, watch TV and smoke. And he constantly clears his throat 24/7, It is so annoying to listen to that all day and evening. Yes, I know he is dying from lung cancer but I think he may take me with him before I do it on own. I had just quit smoking 3 weeks before he was admitted to the hospital in september and then was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. He also went into cardiac arrest while there. He did two treatments of chemo/immunotherapy. He couldn't take it so he quit. I don't blame him. He got very sick. He only weighs 90 pounds. Hospice is involved now. I don't need to explain how all this has changed my life. The stress level went through the roof. My blood pressure when checked last week was 155 over 105. I now have Bells palsy which I know that can be caused by stress. I love my husband and don't want to see him die. But the voice thing has me wondering if it is because of all the smoke he is now putting through the house. Does anyone have a thought on that? Thank you and God Bless you all.

May the Gods help you both . I cannot imagine living in a home with a smoker . Let alone living with the 4 pack a day habit . You are both in a poisonous atmosphere. I smoked for too many years myself . I stopped smoking in my house. in 1992. I stopped smoking completely in 2002. I have stage 4 Emphysema. You should put your health first . There are many other harms for your body when you smoke . Sounds like your husband has given up . Blessed Be, Crystalina

I'm gonna guess that your prescribed inhaler contains a steroid. My pulmo guy has prescribed several meds (Breztri, etc.) and a couple of add-on steroids, "just try this", and I'm a willing guinea pig. BUT... every time I've started inhaling a steroid, I develop a hoarse, scratchy voice, and sometimes a tightness in my throat - not exactly desirable results - and so after discontinuing them, voice and throat return to normal. I'm grateful that my pulmonologist pays attention, listens, takes notes. We're learning together. I'm back to Stiolto (tiotropium and olodaterol) and while I'm not scheduled for any marathons, I'm doing as OK as I can be, I think.

Hi semperfibob16 - I tried different inhalers over the past 6 years. They all contained a steroid, and yes, within the first 2 weeks, I was hoarse. I did a lot of research on it, because initially it looked like this was a coincidence. It's not. Research is finally showing that well over 50% of us who use ICS inhalers become hoarse. I did everything 'right' - rinsed my mouth thoroughly, including using an herbal antifungal - no help. Not a Marine Corp Vet :-), but I was a singer and still love to sing, even with my 75 year old vocal chords (and its good for us too), so I finally asked my pulmo if we could try and inhaler without the steroid. Since I was aready on Trelegy at the time, I switched to Anoro, which is basically Trelegy without the steroid. After 6 month 'trial', the numbers on all of my pulmo tests remained basically the same. And the hoarseness was gone! This may not work for everyone - we are all different. Some of us do much better with the steroid component added. But it's worth a try. What's the worst that can happen? - You go back onto your inhaled steroids... All the best to you! And thank you for your service.

Thanks. I have copd. Do nebilizer twice a day and now on Breztri. But losing my voice every day . Don’t know if I should stop some of the meds and see if I get my voice back??

Thanks for info. I have COPD and on nebilizer twice a day and now on breztri the last four months but I have lost my voice. I read it is the steroids. But do I stop my meds?? What will help.