Aphonia, loss of the voice. This word is composed of the privative prefix α and φωνὴ, voice . Aphonia is the inability to produce sounds, which is always accompanied by the loss of speech, a fairly common occurrence in hysterical suffozcation; or in a narrower sense, it is the inability to produce articulated sounds which originates from some defect of the tongue, and in the other organs of speech.

But the movement of any organs involved in speech are diminished or destroyed only by the reduction or cessation of nervous fluid in the nerves of that part. Thus, aphonia has no other cause than the reduction or termination of the fluids in the nerves used to move the tongue.

The dissection of cadavers confirms this observation. A melancholic person, whose sadness had degenerated into madness, was struck by the loss of voice, which lasted until his death. When his body was dissected, his brain was found to be dry and the nerves that lead to the tongue smaller than ordinary.

The paralysis of the tongue that precedes or follows a stroke or hemiplegia is always accompanied by aphonia. The elderly and people with a weakened disposition are subject to this occurrence. If it appears alone, it indicates a stroke or hemiplegia. If it is a consequence of these diseases, and is accompanied by a loss of memory and confusion in the functions of the mind, it indicates the return of these diseases. The tongue is completely affected by stroke, but only partially in hemiplegia.

Aphonia could end positively, if it is caused by the stagnancy of some serous fluid humors that compress the nerves of the fifth pair that lead to the tongue. Many factors can cause this, for instance: the aftereffects of smallpox, the blockage of perspiration, nasal inflammation that is not treated properly, retracted pimples or serous blisters, violent efforts, falls, or blows; too much blood brought to the tongue and to the throat, the elimination of menstrual flow, hysteria, worms lodged in the stomach or the intestines, the immoderate use of spirits, frequent indigestion, fear, drop in temperature, the influence of the rainy seasons and marshy places, etc.

As for prognosis of aphonia , it varies depending on its cause. Aphonia caused by the presence of worms is easy to cure; the same goes for aphonia caused by hysterical afflictions. Aphonia that originates from the paralysis of the tongue, resists all efforts of medicine, or only disappears for a certain time.

It follows from what we have said above, that in order to cure aphonia, it is necessary to remove the obstacles, or dispel the serosities that compress the nerves in the brain in the sort of aphonia that comes from the paralysis of the tongue. For this purpose, it is necessary to resort to bleeding, to emollient enemas, diuretics, sternutatories, clean balsamics appropriate for afflictions of the nerves; in brief, it is necessary to resort to all remedies able to restore the function of parts affected by it. On this topic, see Paralysis, Hemiplegia.