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There are many different causes. Acute laryngitis comes on quickly and is often the result of a viral infection of the throat or the upper respiratory tract, such as the common cold. Sometimes it may be due to a bacterial infection, such as streptococcal bacteria.
When an infection is to blame, be it viral or bacterial, the hoarseness will normally be accompanied by a runny nose, sore throat, and cough: it never lasts longer than two or three weeks but, if bacterial, then antibiotics would be needed.
There are other causes of acute laryngitis - just straining the voice can cause temporary hoarseness.
Acute laryngitis is often the result of a viral infection of the throat or the upper respiratory tract
If the hoarseness lasts longer than three weeks, as has happened with your daughter, we refer to this as chronic laryngitis.
Again, there's a long list of possible causes, such as ongoing sinus disease, which causes what is called a post-nasal drip (excess mucus drips down the back of the throat), smoking or drinking alcohol to excess, and acid reflux.
Acid reflux is common and is often overlooked as a cause of a hoarse voice because the symptoms that may alert someone to the fact that they have reflux - such as indigestion or heartburn - may be absent.
What happens with reflux is that acid from the stomach spills into the oesophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach) during the night.
This can happen either because of a weakness of the valve at the point where the oesophagus enters the stomach, or if there is a hiatus hernia.
'As hoarseness can be a symptom of this cancer it is a major reason why examination by an expert is essential in anyone who is hoarse for more than four to six weeks'
This means part of the stomach is protruding up into the oesophagus and there is no longer a valve action keeping the oesophagus closed - part of the stomach is rolling through a gap into the chest. When you are lying horizontally the contents of the stomach, which include acid and digestive enzymes, can spill over into the airway and cause both a cough and inflammation of the larynx and the vocal cords - resulting in hoarseness.
There are, however, other conditions besides laryngitis that can cause hoarseness.
These include abnormal growths on the vocal cords such as polyps or nodules, muscle tension dysphonia - a condition in which the muscles around the voice box and vocal cords are so tight that they have to strain to work as normal - and throat cancer.
I must emphasise that this is a rare cancer that is extremely uncommon in the under-40s - it typically affects those aged 60-plus.
But as hoarseness can be a symptom of this cancer it is a major reason why examination by an expert is essential in anyone who is hoarse for more than four to six weeks - and this is why your daughter should be referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist so an exact diagnosis can be made.
Malcolm Rolling, by email.
You are not alone. At least 50 per cent of people over the age of 60 have an impaired sense of smell.
Our ability to detect odours and aromas relies on sensitive nerve cells high up in the nose. From each of these cells, known as olfactory chemoreceptor cells, hang cilia, fine extensions that extend into the mucus that coats the nasal lining.
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Dr Scurr cannot enter into personal correspondence.
His replies cannot apply to individual cases and should be taken in a general context.
Always consult your own GP with any health worries.
However, as we get older, the number of olfactory cells decreases, which is why so many older people find that their sense of smell is not as sharp as it was when they were younger.
Yet it's not just age that can have this effect. Both the olfactory cells and the cilia are easily damaged by, for example, an infection such as a heavy cold.
It is possible that in your case the chemotherapy did the damage - chemotherapy destroys cancer cells but healthy cells can be damaged at the same time.
Knowing which applies to you depends upon the timing, and I would ask the question: did you lose your sense of smell during or immediately after the course of treatment?
If it was at this time that you noticed a change, then it is quite possible that the chemotherapy is to blame.
Normally the damaged cells would have been replaced - studies have shown we have an ability to replace those lost by injury.
But it may be that the damage was too severe to enable this to happen, which is possible given that you had 30 weeks of treatment.
If this is the case, I'm afraid it is unlikely that your sense of smell will return to what it was - but perhaps that is not such a high price to pay for being free of cancer nine years on from your treatment.
Free health care, as we all know, is an illusion
By the way... We are all going to pay more for our 'free' NHS
Having tolerated a chilly house for a few weeks while waiting for the summer prices of heating oil, I was still left shocked this week by the cost and went next door to commiserate with my neighbours.Both are over the age of 90 and the wife pointed out that she had just spent more than £200 on new dentures; so much for free health care at the point of delivery, I said.
Only last summer one of my sons, studying at the University of York, paid a charge of more than £28 for the items prescribed for the treatment of severe eczema. Again, so much for free health care at the point of delivery.
Ironically, three of the medicines could have been purchased on a private prescription for under half of that.
For while the NHS charges £8.05 per item on prescription, a private prescription reflects the cost of the medicine - and sometimes it can be far less. If my son had been in Wales or Scotland, there would have been no charge to pay.
The point is, free health care, as we all know, is an illusion, or, at best, a relative concept. So the anger and opposition at the proposal from a former Labour health minister that we all be charged a £10-per-month NHS membership fee is mere froth and bubble.
As GPs, we already have to deal with the disappointment and irritation of our patients when we explain the mechanisms of rationing that exist in order to cut costs and preserve the sacred cow of free health care at the point of delivery - to save the face of the politicians.
Can they not see that the time has come for change?
I could have kept the central heating on throughout January and February - it would have been cosy in my study, but it would have cost a small fortune.
As it is I ration the heating in my house - no choice. The people in charge of the NHS budget must now face up to a similar dilemma.
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