A 75 year old woman presented with a three week history of severe dyspnoea and cough. Auscultation and spirometry suggested extrathoracic inspiratory airway obstruction, and bronchoscopy showed abnormal motion of the arytenoid region (supraglottic area), causing upper airway obstruction only during forced inspiratory efforts. Sedatives improved the symptoms within a week. It is suggested that reversible malfunction of the arytenoid region can be responsible for upper airway obstruction.