Change in Voice - Is it serious ?
A change in voice is an important symptom. It can be important to an individual because of the fact that the person requires their voice for their job or they are a professional voice user. It can also be important because this symptom can herald the early onset of a laryngeal cancer. There is however, a wide mix of diagnoses related to this symptom.
If a change in voice persists greater than 4 weeks than it does warrant an ENT examination. An ENT surgeon will take a careful history and perform a thorough examination to elicit the cause of the change in voice http://www.myentsurgeon.com/ears-nose-throat-consultation.html
It is important to bear in mind risk factors for cancer in the form of smoking and drinking and clearly patients with these and a change in voice should not delay in seeking a specialist opinion.