I am a schoolteacher, and three months ago I had a horrible case of laryngitis, which lasted two weeks. I also have two small children, so resting my voice was almost impossible. Since then my voice hasn't completely returned to normal. I have my normal speaking voice for the most part, but it is often hoarse or cracking. Some days are better than others. I went to see an allergy doctor recently (I have allergies to mold and constant drainage and sinus problems) and he told me that it just takes time to heal. Should I see an ENT?

M.E.

When someone has a prolonged recovery following laryngitis, there are often other factors promoting laryngeal inflammation. Bear in mind that a person with laryngitis usually does not have to rest his/her voice to recuperate from laryngitis -- usually, "tincture of time" does the trick. If poor voice quality persists, you should scrutinize your lifestyle, think about other illnesses that might be perpetuating your problem and think about getting help from a professional.

Here's the advice I usually give to people in your situation:

• Hydration: Try to drink eight to 10 eight-ounce glasses of noncaffeinated, nonalcoholic beverages each day. Avoid drinking alcohol, and try to avoid caffeinated beverages as much as possible. If you work out, or if your work involves a lot of physical labor, your liquid requirement may be even higher than 80 ounces per day.
  
• Avoid vocal abuse: Screaming and shouting are obvious examples of vocal abuse. Less obvious examples of activities that are harmful to the vocal cords are whispering, prolonged telephone conversations, frequent throat-clearing and chronic cough.
  
• If you smoke, stop. If you are exposed to secondhand smoke, do whatever you can to avoid these contaminated environments. Tobacco smoke causes the delicate tissues lining the vocal cords (mucosa) to swell, which adversely affects vocal quality. Some smokers develop permanent mucosal swelling, resulting in the husky "smoker's voice."
  
• Seek help from a voice coach or speech therapist. There are a number of subtle vocal "bad habits" that can wreak havoc with one's voice. Voice coaches and speech therapists are trained to recognize and correct such errors in technique.
  
• Seek help from an ear, nose and throat physician (ENT). An ENT can determine whether some other health problem (for example, gastroesophageal reflux disease or postnasal drainage) is contributing to your poor voice quality, and can treat you if you do have such a problem.