A muscle tension dysphonia tracker for when talking feels like lifting something heavy
A chronic illness tracker and gentle companion that already knows what muscle tension dysphonia can involve, so you do not have to explain it from scratch.
What muscle tension dysphonia can involve
Muscle tension dysphonia is when the muscles in and around the voice box work harder than they need to, so the voice sounds hoarse, strained or tired and the throat can feel tight or sore. It often builds up after a cold, a stretch of heavy voice use, reflux or a stressful time, and it can sit alongside other voice conditions, including spasmodic dysphonia.
It is invisible in the way that matters: people hear a croaky voice and assume a cold, and they do not see the effort behind every sentence or how little is left by the evening. Keeping a simple record of good and bad voice days, and what the day asked of your voice, is the kind of thing a voice clinic may ask you about. If your voice has not been looked at by a doctor yet, that comes before keeping a diary: the NHS says to see a GP about a hoarse voice or a change in your voice that does not go away. Its page on the symptoms of laryngeal cancer sets out why.
Muscle tension dysphonia is different from spasmodic dysphonia, though the two can occur together, and it is primarily treated with voice therapy.
Muscle tension dysphonia symptoms checklist to take to your GP
Tick what applies to you, note how often it happens, and take it to your appointment, so the conversation starts further along. It describes your experience. It does not say what is causing anything: ticking most of these does not mean you have Muscle tension dysphonia, and ticking a few does not mean you do not. Only a clinician can work that out with you.
The list comes from the NHS and charity sources linked further down this page, and from what people living with muscle tension dysphonia tell us they keep an eye on. It is a starting point, not a test.
How a day can feel
If your days sound anything like this, taluvu was made with you in mind.
“Talking feels like lifting something heavy.”
“My throat is gripped before I have said a word.”
“The harder I push the voice out, the worse it gets.”
“By the evening I have nothing left to speak with.”
“People tell me to relax, as if I had not thought of that.”
These are the kinds of things taluvu invites you to say in your own words, never a checklist of what anyone “should” have.
What taluvu helps you keep track of
Choose Muscle tension dysphonia and it starts you with a palette, not a blank form.
These are things people living with muscle tension dysphonia often want to keep an eye on. Remove any you do not need, add your own, and check in with a few taps on the days you have very little to give.
Throat tightness
Neck or jaw tension
Voice tiredness
Hoarseness
Effort to speak
Voice worse through the day
Throat pain
✎ A journal in your own words, not a score
◔ A plain-English week view of what stands out
▤ A Doctor Summary you own and can print
☏ Your care team’s details in one place
taluvu never claims one thing caused another. It shows what's worth noticing and leaves the medicine to your doctor. See how the symptom tracker app works.
Trusted information and support
Places we point people to for muscle tension dysphonia.
The same sources and communities taluvu links to inside the app. They're independent of us; please check anything important with your own care team.
About this page: Published by taluvu and checked against the independent sources linked above on 16 October 2026. It has not been medically reviewed and is not medical advice. How we write and check these pages.
Questions people ask
Muscle tension dysphonia and taluvu, in plain answers.
Short, honest answers about what taluvu does and does not do for muscle tension dysphonia. Nothing here is medical advice.
Is taluvu a muscle tension dysphonia tracker?
Yes. Muscle tension dysphonia is built into taluvu. Choose it and you start with a palette of throat tightness, neck or jaw tension, voice tiredness, hoarseness, effort to speak, a voice that gets worse through the day and throat pain, and you can add anything else in your own words.
Can I record how my voice sounds, not just how it felt?
Yes. taluvu's voice diary, new in version 1.0.8 (see what's new), lets you rate how speaking went each day and keep a short recording of your own voice with the journal, so you have something to play back rather than describe from memory. The recording stays on your phone. taluvu does not analyse it or measure your voice.
Does taluvu do voice exercises or tell me how to speak?
No. taluvu does not give treatment advice. Voice therapy, and what to do about reflux, voice load or anything else your clinician thinks is contributing, are things to work through with your speech and language therapist or ENT team. taluvu keeps the record and leaves the therapy to them.
Why keep a day-by-day record of a voice condition?
Because voice tiredness is easy to under-report. By the time you see someone, a run of bad weeks blurs into 'it has been a bit croaky'. A short daily rating, with a note of what the day asked of your voice, is a record you can hand over as it is.
Getting taluvu
Carry muscle tension dysphonia with a little more company.
taluvu is a chronic illness tracker for iPhone and for your web browser. Each one is a separate membership with a free trial, and the price and terms are shown in full before you're ever asked to pay.
Taluvu Chronic Illness Tracker
TALUVU LTD · Health and Fitness · iPhone
Free to download, with a Taluvu Pro subscription inside
Taluvu Chronic Illness Tracker
TALUVU LTD · Health and Fitness · Computer
Start with a free week of Taluvu Pro, in your web browser
These pages cover experiences that can sit alongside muscle tension dysphonia. They are here to help you organise what you notice, not to suggest a diagnosis.
taluvu is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Nothing on this page is a substitute for advice from your own doctor or care team. taluvu helps you organise and describe your own experience. See the Medical & AI Disclaimer.
If you are in crisis or need urgent help, contact your local emergency services or a crisis line. In the UK, call 999 in an emergency, NHS 111 for urgent advice, or Samaritans free on 116 123.
