"Hemorrhaged vocal cords." The words conjure images of a bloody blowout, one that seems all the more dramatic because it sidelined Adele just as the 23-year-old singer was dominating the music business. But the doctor who successfully operated on Adele last week says that the condition is generally not as gruesome as it sounds ("This is not a lot of bleeding") and does not afflict only powerhouse singers. TV pundits who shout over each other and traders screaming above the din of a stock exchange, for example, run the risk of voice trauma, an acute form of the stress that we all weather over decades of vocalizing.

Citing Adele's privacy, Dr. Steven Zeitels, director of the Voice Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, declined to discuss her case specifically. But in an interview he described a condition that he has treated (in some form) in hundreds of singers, including Steven Tyler, Julie Andrews and Roger Daltrey, who had a pre-cancerous growth removed from his vocal cord by Dr. Zeitels just six weeks before the Who performed during the Super Bowl last year.

Adele's record label, Columbia, and her manager declined requests for comment.

Injuries to the soft tissue of the vocal cords lead to bleeding and the formation of blister or callous-like growths. Such polyps and nodules contribute to scarring and the stiffening of the vocal cords. The less pliable these folds of mucous membrane are, the less they vibrate and oscillate properly. Translation: "You cannot sing," Dr. Zeitels says.

Bad singing habits, such as failing to warm up, can contribute to vocal injuries. A likelier culprit: Most pros carry on with the show even when they're ill or over-fatigued, making their voices especially vulnerable, he notes. "They may not be doing anything incorrectly. They may just have an amazing work ethic. They don't call in sick."