Miley Cyrus talks medical condition that causes her raspy voice

Miley Cyrus has explained why she doesn’t tour as much as some of her fans — or even she — would like.

“I have the Reinke’s edema, which is something that is called, it’s abuse of the vocal cords,” Cyrus, 32, said May 21 on Apple Music’s Zane Lowe Interview. “And 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 — it’s a part of my unique anatomy.”

As part of the rare condition, which causes fluid to build up in the outer layer of vocal folds, the voice sounds deeper and raspier. It’s given Cyrus the pipes she uses on her songs such as “Flowers,” “Wrecking Ball, ” and “Used to Be Young.” So it’s complicated, because she doesn’t want the sound that she’s had for more than 20 years in the spotlight to change. (Seriously, Cyrus noted that she can’t hide under a hat or a mask even at the grocery store, because people recognize her the moment she speaks.)

“I have this large polyp on my cords,” Cyrus said, “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.” After all, she said, it’s the polyp that has given her “a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am.”

But there’s a downside to it.

It’s “extremely difficult to perform with,” Cyrus said, “because it’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on.”

Even so, Cyrus regularly performs live, just not night after night on lengthy tours. It’s enough for her mom, Tish Cyrus, to hear the difference in her voice.

“Sometimes, at the end of the day, 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 ultimate vocal fry,” the former Hannah Montana star said. “And so I do have this blessing of a condition that I live with.”

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Cyrus dreams of being able to tour regularly, but doing it would be demanding. While she said her team would confirm that she regularly puts together tours, she admits the situation is less than ideal. She hasn’t

“I don’t lip-sync. I sing live, and these songs are big,” Cyrus said. “I don’t write little songs.”

She specifically cited “End of the World” and “More to Lose,” two of the songs from her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, which will be released May 30. It will be accompanied by a movie of the same name.

“That’s why I want to create this film, the film is my way of touring,” Cyrus said. “That’s why I’m putting it into theaters, because it’s something you can watch night after night after night and you get to discover, and you get a feel like you’re a part of a performance.”

Watch the full conversation above.