Laryngitis

Question: 
I have been diagnosed with laryngitis. Doctor suggest no talking. I have read and heard that whispering is the same to the vocal chords as yelling. Is this true and could you give any suggestions on how to recover the voice and when it's wise to start speaking or singing again. Sincerely, Ringo Maestro
Answer: 

The word laryngitis means inflammation of the larynx. If your larynx is inflamed, at some point it should become not-inflamed. You and your doctor would need to determine when that point is.

Whispering is much different than yelling. In a true whisper, the airway is narrowed and airflows turbulent leak through this narrow point. This generates white noise which we hear as a whisper. Consequently there is no movement of the edges of the vocal cord. This is in strong contrast to a yell where the vocal cords are hitting each other rather aggressively. There is an in-between sound called a stage whisper where the vocal cords are partially closed and partially allowed to vibrate. There is both a white noise quality and a pitch quality to a stage whisper.