In today's world, communication is everything. So imagine not having a voice to express yourself.

Up until now, people with damaged vocal cords usually had few options to regain their ability to speak.

The human vocal cords, vibrating at 100 times per second, these embranes help us communicate.

But like all muscles, they can be overworked.

"It is the most mechanically active tissue...you can imagine how much stress you put on that delicate tissue

In most cases injured cords do bounce back but some can be damaged permanently.

"So that damage can translate into either nodes that have to be taken off, or the vocal cord has to be removed in extreme cancer patients..."

Now researchers at the University of Delaware are working to give people forced into silence new hope.

Their goal is to develop a synthetic material that can be injected into
Damaged vocal cords to help them re-grow. Its all experimental at this point.

Right now, they're working on melding the artificial substance with cells from animals. Its a tricky procedure, but necessary. Because vocal cords need to Be able to stretch and vibrate...so the material used to repair them should be supple. These researchers say if their plan works, some patients could Receive full sets of lab-grown vocal cords. In other cases, simply an Injection that will help healthy cord tissue restore itself.


Although overusing your voice can cause a lot of damage to vocal cords, doctors also warn against certain conditions. Acid Reflux is a major culprit when it comes to vocal fold damage, as well as smoking and second hand smoke.