Voice-changing injury

efreysson

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I've posted this question before, but didn't really get the answer I wanted, so I'm taking another go at it:

One of my characters has a really gravelly, ugly voice, and I want it to be due to an injury. An injury that he could otherwise recover from, in a world with fairly primitive medicine. Could he have survived a stabbing, slashing, bludgeoning, strangling, or hanging, or whatever, that altered his voice?
Hmm, or maybe he was caught in a fire, and breathed in superhot air . . .
 

Palmfrond

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A harsh voice that then becomes normal would probably have to be caused by an infection that changes the shape of the vocal cords (nodules). An injury to the outside of the larynx could impede the flow of air and suffocate the character, but if vocal cords are inside the larynx. The voice box would have to be pretty wrecked to injure the vocal cords, so the guy probably wouldn't live long enough to find out what his voice sounds like.
 

efreysson

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A harsh voice that then becomes normal would probably have to be caused by an infection that changes the shape of the vocal cords (nodules)

No, I meant that his voice would STAY messed up, but he would OTHERWISE recover.
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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Common cause of voice raspiness in modern times is intubation.

Nodules on the vocal cords from straining the voice happen often. Or an infection.

Damage from being choked, not fatally but severely can be long-lasting or permanent, especially if the victim doesn't have the luxury of not speaking for the recovery period. The bruising outside the larynx can damage something - I forget what.
 

efreysson

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Damage from being choked, not fatally but severely can be long-lasting or permanent, especially if the victim doesn't have the luxury of not speaking for the recovery period.

Hmm, that could work. It happens during a war, so he may have to screech orders or give reports, wounded or not. Would something like that leave a visible outside mark?
 

Chase

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One of my characters has a really gravelly, ugly voice, and I want it to be due to an injury. An injury that he could otherwise recover from, in a world with fairly primitive medicine. Could he have survived a stabbing, slashing, bludgeoning, strangling, or hanging, or whatever, that altered his voice?
Hmm, or maybe he was caught in a fire, and breathed in superhot air . . .

I don't know if this will help or not.

An actor named Andy Devine had a famous gravely voice which he claimed came about because as a child he fell while running with a curtain rod in his mouth. His vocal cords were injured. The injury healed, but his voice was permanantly changed.

http://www.answers.com/topic/andy-devine

After becoming well-known on radio, he was a comic sidekick in many TV and movie western dramas. If you'd like to hear his distinctive voice, check out The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Devine plays Appleyard, the reluctant town marshal.
 

RJK

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A club to the throat, damaging the larynx which in turn, damages the vocal chords, should be enough explanation for your readers.
 

trocadero

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Reminds me of a character in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, in which a character is hanged - almost, but survives with a permanently damaged voice. For your purposes, anything which damages the vocal folds will do:) Misusing your voice leads to nodules which cause a hoarse sounding voice. I met a child a couple of years ago who sounded like one of Marj Simpson's sisters, who was a screamer as a toddler. You don't need to do much to the vocal folds to impact on the sound.

Any of the injuries you suggest would work. What adds a layer to his story? What makes him more engaging? Does he wish to hide the cause? Did it impact on his personality? Should the reader feel pity, be glad, or feel torn? I hope you let us know what you decide - it's an interesting problem.
 

efreysson

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Any of the injuries you suggest would work. What adds a layer to his story? What makes him more engaging? Does he wish to hide the cause? Did it impact on his personality? Should the reader feel pity, be glad, or feel torn? I hope you let us know what you decide - it's an interesting problem.

Well, it happens about 20 years in his past, while he was fighting an extremely gruesome war for three years. I want the injury to happen during a huge, prolonged battle that's something of a turning point for his psyche, and plays a big part in turning him into the hardened, merciless warrior he is in the present. He emerges from the battle a very changed man, mentally and physically, and with a harsh ugly voice to go with his new outlook.

I'm now kind of leaning towards having him grapple with an enemy, who starts to strangle him with a coarse hemp rope. The result is a changed voice, and a nasty scar across the throat.