Miley Cyrus has revealed that the reason her voice is so unique isn’t by chance, but rather the result of a medical condition she’s had to deal with.
She has Reinke’s edema
The 32-year-old Grammy winner shared in her interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe on May 21 that the reason behind her raspy voice is a vocal cord disorder called Reinke’s edema.
RELATED STORIES
Cyrus described the disorder as “abuse of the vocal cords.”
She hadn’t been looking after herself in the past years
“Being 21 and staying up and drinking and smoking and partying after every show does not help,” Cyrus explained.
“But also in my case, it does not cause it. So my voice always sounded like this — it’s a part of my unique anatomy.”
Reinke’s edema causes swelling in the vocal cords
The condition Cyrus is talking about, Reinke’s edema, is a benign condition that causes swelling in the vocal cords, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Reinke’s edema is most common in women and with people who have a long-term history of smoking.
It’s given her a unique voice
Cyrus expressed that the condition has caused her to have a unique voice.
She explained that she has a “large polyp” on her vocal cords, “which has given me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am.”
It makes it harder to perform, though
Despite the condition giving her a unique voice, the Flowers singer has stated that it also makes performing harder.
“But it’s extremely difficult to perform with,” she said, “because it’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on.”
It leaves her exhausted at the end of the day
Cyrus went on, “Even when I’m talking sometimes, at the end of the day I’ll call my mom and she’ll go, ‘Oh, you sound like you’re talking through a radio’.”
“And that’s how you know I’m really tired, because it creates that ultimate vocal fry.”
She has no plans to fix it
Despite having to struggle through her performances, Cyrus has stated that she has no plans on fixing her condition with surgery.
“My voice is super unique because of it, but I do have this Reinke’s edema and I have this large polyp on my cords, and I’m not willing to sever it ever, because the chance of waking up from a surgery and not sounding like myself is a probability,” she said.
She had kept it a secret
“I really had it on my heart that I don’t speak and don’t really care to talk about this thing that’s really precious and really private to me,” the singer said, before adding, “But it is a real thing.”
