American environmental lawyer and politician, Robert F Kennedy Jr suffers from “spasmodic dysphonia.” It is an involuntary movement disorder called dystonia that affects only the voice box.
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Even though it is not life-threatening, people who have the same disease have shared that it affects their way of life.
“Losing your voice hits people in their primary, intimate connection to the outside world and affects nearly every aspect of their lives,” they shared.
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In 2007, Kennedy also shared in an interview with Oprah that it was quite challenging.
“The disease didn’t hit me until I was about 43. I used to have a strong voice. There’s a treatment for it. Botox shots. They put a needle into your voice box every four months,” he said.
A former spokesman for Dysphonia International, Dr. Robert Bastian, also shared;
“If you do anything surgical, the dystonia tries to win. It tries to figure out a way around its obstruction. Best guess spasmodic dysphonia experts have… is that root of the neurological disorder lies in the basal ganglia,” he said.
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