Imagine that you awaken tomorrow, and no longer have a voice. You awaken, stretch, and yawn, but there is not any sound. There’s only the motion of your mouth. You clear your eyes, sit at the edge of the bed, and clear your throat. You even attempt to cough. But nothing comes out, save for the sound of air escaping as if the air in a balloon suddenly released from its valve. I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill laryngitis, with a raspy, gravelly hoarse voice, but true voice loss – aphonia, in the parlance of the ear, nose, and throat surgeon.