Is there something wrong with my voice-- do I have callouses on my vocal chords

Question:

Is there something wrong with my voice-- do I have callouses on my vocal chords or something?

I'm really worried because I love to sing but lately my voice has been really weird. It hurts to talk and sing but my family says I sound normal. It was OK for a while but then when I started to talk just a little bit louder it went raw again.

I really hope I didn't permanently damage anything-- that happened to my choir teacher and now she can never sing again the way she used to be able to. I want to be able to sing really well (like I used to until these past few weeks) for the rest of my life. Does anyone out there who has had simmilar experiences have any advice? Is there any hope for me? Do I need to go to vocal therapy and if so, is it expensive?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The first thing you should do is see an ENT - Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. Try and find someone who specializes in treating singers. If you have nodes, he or she will prescribe an amount of time to be silent to let your vocal folds heal. A friend of mine who is a voice teacher recently found out a vessel had burst on one of her vocal folds. She was told to be silent for 6 weeks. I know that sounds scary, but it is the only way to heal. See an ENT now!!!