Dallas Blog

@Heywood
It's called Spasmodic Dysphonia. She has been fighting it for years.

you mean Diane Rehm ISN'T older than god's balls?

*googles*

HOLY CRAP she doesn't look like Mumra! NPR, fix her mic!

Spasmodic Dysphonia

http://www.voicemedicine.com/spasmodic_dysphonia.htm

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a type of dystonia, a neurologic disease that causes involuntary movements. There are two types of SD. Adductor SD (AdSD) causes the vocal fold to come together (adduct) inappropriately during voicing, makes up about 85-90% of SD. Abductor SD (AbSD), on the other hand, makes the vocal folds come apart (abduct) during connected speech. These movements cause the symptoms which are discussed below.
SD usually affects adults, with a typical onset of symptoms in the 30s and 40s. The cause is unknown, and there do not appear to be any behaviors or environmental factors that increase the chance of contracting SD. It is not hereditary.

In AdSD, the vocal folds come together too tightly during speech, causing strained, strangled breaks in the voice. In AbSD, the vocal folds part, causing breathy or soundless breaks. In both cases, the voice breaks are irregular, and the severity of the symptoms can vary from day to day, or even over the course of a single day. It is typical for anxiety to cause symptoms to be more noticeable. People with SD often report that speaking with strangers or public speaking makes the voice worse. Almost all report that using the phone is especially challenging.

SD, like most dystonias, is task-specific. That is, it is only evident during one type of activity. Other laryngeal actions, like breathing and swallowing, are usually unaffected. Sometimes, the voice will even be fluent while laughing or singing, but not during connected speech. This feature, combined with the deterioration of the voice with anxiety, occasionally causes the disorder to be mistakenly attributed to psychiatric reasons. SD is not a psychiatric or psychological disease.

There is no cure for SD. Treatment is available to improve symptoms, and happily, that is almost always possible. It is important to understand that choosing not to get treated does not make the disease worse.

"Robert Siegel can't understand why someone will likely pay more than $50,000 for nothing more than a rock"

It's a piece of another planet. In all likelihood, it's a completely unique object unlike anything else on Earth. $50,000 seems low to me in a country where someone would pay $750,000 for a baseball hit by Barry Bonds.