During a contentious Senate Finance Committee hearing last week, the strained and tremulous quality of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s voice drew public attention as he faced intense questioning over vaccine policy changes.
Kennedy has a rare neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes involuntary spasms of the muscles in the voice box. He is among an estimated 50,000 people in North America with the condition, which typically affects middle-aged individuals and is lifelong.
Spasmodic dysphonia can cause the voice to sound shaky, hoarse, or strained. The muscle spasms can force the vocal cords to either clamp shut, creating a tight, strangled sound, or remain open, resulting in a weak, breathy whisper. This can cause a person’s speech to break or cut out unexpectedly.
The 70-year-old secretary has spoken openly about the disorder, which he was diagnosed with in 1996. “I had a very, very strong voice until I was 46 years old,” he stated in a 2023 interview. “It makes my voice tremble. At the time, I didn’t know what was wrong with it. But when I would go on TV, people would write me letters and say, ‘You have spasmodic dysphonia.’”
While treatments such as Botox injections and voice therapy can help manage the symptoms, there is no cure for the chronic condition.
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