Miley Cyrus Spills the Sultry Secret Behind Her Raspy Voice—And It’s Not What You Think!
Added on May 27, 2025 inMusic News Cards
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Ever wondered what gives Miley Cyrus that iconic raspy growl? It turns out, beneath those electrifying high notes lies a vocal cord condition called Reinke’s edema—a quirky little quirk she’s had since birth, not from partying too hard as you might assume. At 32, Miley’s opened up about this “really precious and really private” challenge, admitting it makes every performance feel like “running a marathon with ankle weights on.” Yet, despite surgery being an option, she’s absolutely adamant about keeping her signature sound intact—because, hey, who wants to wake up and not sound like themselves? Talk about owning your uniqueness—especially with Mercury doing its unpredictable dance today, reminding us all that sometimes the weirdest little glitches are what truly make us shine. Curious to dive deeper? LEARN MORE.
Miley Cyrus has revealed why her voice sounds raspy, and despite it being treatable, she refuses to undergo surgery on it.
The 32-year-old ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer has opened up about the ‘really precious and really private’ medical condition that takes a ‘physical’ toll on her throughout the course of a day.
The Tennessee-born musician can hit a wide-range of pitches that most of us can only dream of, but the reason as to why she is able to hit those notes could be down to her vocal cord disorder, Reinke’s edema.
According to Cleveland Clinic, it is a non-cancerous condition that is common among people with a long-term smoking history – although in Cyrus’ case, she was simply born with it.
However, she’s not let it hold her back, and even credited it towards making her voice the ‘unique’ tone that millions of fans enjoy.
Miley Cyrus has shared how she lives with a vocal cord disorder, as she describes perfomances with the condition as being ‘like running a marathon with ankle weights on’ (John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
As mentioned earlier, it is due to Reinke’s edema. While being interviewed by New Zealand DJ Zane Lowe for Apple Music, she explained: “I had [have] the Reinke’s edema which is something that is called… it’s abuse of the vocal cords.
“And you know being 21 and staying up and drinking, and smoking, and partying after every show does not help – but also in my case it does not cause it.
“So my voice always sounded like this so it’s a part of my, you know, unique anatomy – this is what I look like, so I have this very large, you know, polyp on my vocal cord, which is giving me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am.”
Again, as shared earlier, Reinke’s edema is typically developed following a life of heavy smoking, which causes your vocal cords to swell. In some cases, like Cyrus’s, people living with the condition will have non-cancerous growths known as polyps appear inside the vocal box.
Cleveland Clinic writes: “Hallmark symptoms are hoarseness and a noticeably deeper voice. Quitting smoking may improve mild cases, but most people need surgery.”
Touching on her condition and her voice, Cyrus told Lowe: “It’s extremely difficult to perform with because it’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on, so even when I’m talking sometimes at the end of the day you know 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 like ultimate vocal fry.
“Yeah, and so I do have this blessing of a condition.”
The singer has stated that she does not intend to seek any treatment for the condition though, as she believes that it’s what makes her voice so ‘unique’.
“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.
“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,” she added. “But it is a real thing.”
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