Nonorganic Breathing Disorder, Laryngeal

Laryngeal nonorganic breathing disorder is when a person’s vocal cords partially or fully close during breathing, which causes noisy breathing. Also called vocal cord dysfunction (VFD) or vocal cord dysfunction (VCD).

The fundamental disorder is not in the mechanism itself, but rather in the patient’s “use” of the mechanism. Consciously or sub-consciously, the patient inappropriately narrows the space between the vocal cords, usually for secondary gain. Unlike with asthma or nonorganic breathing disorder of the trachea, the noisy breathing is mostly heard when the person breathes in (inspiration). Still, on occasion, individuals with this disorder are treated for years as having asthma before this diagnosis is finally made.