Has anyone been diagnosed or know any pilot who has dealt with spasmodic dysphonia? It is a neurological condition where an individual will have occasional uncontrolled spasms of his/her vocal cords causing poor voice quality such as choppy, fluctuating, strangled voice when speaking. Unfortunately, there is no cure for spasmodic dysphonia, but there is a short term option such as botox injections directly into the neck to relax the vocal cord muscles which last about 3 months. Another option is surgery, but there is not any long term results history for this procedure yet.
I am afraid if the FAA finds out of my visits to a speech pathologist and neurologist, and/or botox injections in the neck, I could potentially bring on an unwanted medical investigation and revocation!!
I searched the FAA website and found an article discussing an ATP pilot suffering from voice choppiness and voice fade. The article stated a pilot should remove himself from flight status because communication with ATC is vital. On another page, I read the FAA has the ultimate authority on any perceived medical ailment. What should I do?