The voice healer: Dr Kumaresan: 50 years of helping men speak, gain confidence

CHENNAI: For over 50 years, Dr M Kumaresan, an eminent ENT surgeon, researcher, and author, has been transforming lives by restoring one of humanity’s most defining attributes, the voice.

Known globally for his pioneering work in treating puberphonia, a condition where a male’s voice remains high-pitched even after puberty, Dr Kumaresan has combined medical precision with acoustic science to give countless patients a renewed sense of identity and confidence.

Puberphonia, often misunderstood as a psychological issue, is in fact a physiological anomaly. “During puberty, the male larynx enlarges and the vocal cords lengthen, deepening the voice. But in some individuals, the voice fails to adapt, resulting in a persistently high pitch,” he explains.

Dr Kumaresan’s research and surgical innovations have shown that through advanced micro-laryngeal techniques, the voice can be restored to its natural masculine resonance, often within just 30 minutes of treatment, followed by five days of guided voice therapy. A passionate teacher and lifelong researcher, he detailed his findings in his book, Puberphonia and Virtual Reality in Health.

He detailed a scientific explanation for the condition using the Venturi effect, a fluid dynamics principle rarely associated with voice mechanics. His theory posits that as air flows through constricted regions of the pharynx, its velocity increases and pressure decreases, creating a resonance that amplifies sound at the level of the uvula, which, he discovered, acts as a movable constrictor that modulates this effect. It plays a crucial role in phonation, resonance, and upper airway aerodynamics.

Dr Kumaresan’s contributions extend far beyond clinical innovation. A graduate of Madurai Medical College and Madras Medical College, he served the Tamil Nadu Medical Service from 1968, holding key roles at Government Stanley Hospital, Madras Medical College, and the Institute of Child Health. After a distinguished tenure, he founded Siva ENT Hospital and the International Research Institute for the Deaf in the city, where he continues to lead research in audiology and speech sciences.

As the president of the Association of Paediatric Otolaryngitis of India (APOI) and a former secretary of the Madras-India Regional Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America, Dr Kumaresan has been instrumental in integrating acoustics and medicine. He has organised hundreds of free ENT camps and inspired young students through science fairs and medical awareness programmes.

His prolific academic output includes over 32 Tamil-language books, three major English medical texts (Clinical and Practical Otorhinolaryngology, Audiology, and Speech Pathology), and several international journal papers.

His recognitions, from the National E-Mark Award (1986) to the Tamil Nadu Science Popularization Award (2002), reflect his enduring impact on both medicine and education.

At 82, Dr Kumaresan remains as passionate about voice science as ever. His mission, he says, is simple yet profound: “A person’s voice is not just sound, it’s identity, emotion, and self-esteem. Restoring it means restoring life.”

Through his relentless research, compassionate practice, and deep understanding of acoustical physiology, Dr Kumaresan has not only rewritten the science of voice disorders but also redefined what it means to heal, by giving people back the power to speak as themselves.