Hidden health cost of screens: How tech neck affects your throat and voice

Glance through any café, co-working space, or a metro train, and you’ll notice the same silhouette everywhere: head tilted forward, shoulders rounded, gaze locked on a screen. It has quietly become the posture of our times. Most young adults know this position can trigger neck pain, but very few realise it can also influence the throat, voice, and swallowing in unexpected ways.

In ENT clinics across large Indian cities, an interesting pattern is emerging. Patients in their twenties are turning up with symptoms that used to appear mostly in older adults — chronic throat clearing, trouble swallowing, voice fatigue, or the odd sensation of a “lump” in the throat. Scans and blood tests often show nothing concerning. The real starting point lies lower — in the neck.

As strange as it sounds, tech neck is slowly becoming an ENT issue. Here’s how tech neck shows up:

Trouble with forward head 

The head is heavier than most people realise. In a neutral position, the spine carries the load well. Tilt it forward for long hours, and the strain multiplies. The front of the neck shortens, the back overworks, and the muscles involved in swallowing and voice production begin functioning under pressure.

Patients describe this as:

“A tight band under the jaw.”

“A fullness in the throat.”

“Something feels stuck even when I haven’t eaten anything.”

This sensation — called globus — was once linked primarily to reflux or anxiety. Increasingly, posture is proving to be a major trigger, especially for young adults glued to screens.

Trouble with swallowing

Swallowing is a coordinated movement involving the tongue, larynx, throat muscles, and esophagus. When the neck stays strained for long periods, this synchrony becomes less efficient.

Symptoms include:

Food taking a moment longer to go down

An urge to swallow repeatedly

Mild dryness

Occasional choking on saliva

These symptoms rarely indicate structural disease. The surrounding muscles simply stay tense, compressing the space around the throat. Ergonomic corrections and simple stretches often bring relief within weeks.

Voice fatigue

Your voice depends on good breath support and efficient vocal cord vibration. When the head juts forward, the airway narrows and the voice box shifts into an awkward position. The vocal cords then work harder to produce the same sound.

This is why young professionals — teachers, singers, customer-support workers, content creators, and those on video calls all day — increasingly report:

Evening hoarseness

A scratchy throat

Inconsistent pitch

Difficulty projecting

Many blame the AC or an “on-and-off infection,” but posture-driven strain is often the root cause.

Chronic throat clearing

One of the most persistent symptoms linked to tech neck is constant throat clearing. A tight throat sends the brain a signal that something is stuck, triggering the urge to clear. The more it happens, the more irritated the tissue becomes, creating a loop.

It’s extremely common among young professionals who spend long hours at laptops. ENT examinations often reveal a mix of mild reflux, dryness, and posture-related tension — all feeding the same cycle.

Tech neck’s ENT impact

Forward-head posture usually comes bundled with lifestyle patterns that strain the upper airway:

High stress

Shallow breathing

Long screen exposure

Poor hydration

Irregular meals

Sleep disruption

What you can do

Most people improve significantly with a handful of steady habits:

•Keep screens at eye level.
•Take posture breaks every 30–45 minutes.
•Sip water regularly, especially in AC environments.
•Stretch the neck and chest gently.
•Avoid habitual throat clearing; a sip of water or a slow swallow works better.
•Address reflux if it coexists with symptoms.

Stress tightens the jaw and upper airway. Dry indoor air irritates the throat. Late meals worsen reflux, which affects the vocal cords. Together, they amplify ENT symptoms.

Tech neck may look like a simple posture issue, but for many young adults, it’s quietly reshaping how the throat and voice behave. The encouraging part is that these symptoms are reversible. With timely attention and a few mindful adjustments, the throat often returns to its natural ease.

If you’re experiencing persistent tightness, swallowing difficulty, or voice fatigue, it’s worth discussing it with an ENT specialist. Once posture enters the conversation, the solution is often clearer than expected.

(The author is a consultant - ENT surgeon at a Hyderabad hospital.)