Google CEO Larry Page has disclosed a problem with his vocal cords that makes it difficult for him to speak and breathe occasionally, but he says he remains fit enough to keep running the Internet’s most influential company.

The explanation that Page posted Tuesday on his Google Plus profile cleared up a mystery hanging over him since he lost his voice a year ago, causing him to miss Google Inc.’s annual shareholders meeting in June and a conference call to discuss the company’s quarterly earnings in July.

Yet Page, the company’s co-founder and CEO for the past two years, conceded that all is not completely well with him.

Page, who is 40, says his left vocal cord has been paralysed since coming down with a severe cold 14 years ago, while Google was still in its formative stages. That issue was compounded last year with another cold that Page says impaired his right vocal cord, though it still has limited movement.

Page’s unavailability last year spooked investors, especially those who remembered Apple Inc.’s initial refusal to disclose the extent of co-founder Steve Jobs’ health problems. Jobs took two formal medical leaves as Apple’s CEO before resigning from the job about six weeks before his death from cancer.

When Page had his health issue, Google had simply said Page was dealing with a throat problem that wouldn’t get in the way of his job.

Wall Street’s worries about Page’s condition eased when he resurfaced in October to field questions during Google’s earnings call. Although his voice has been raspy and robotic-sounding at times, Page has spoken at length in each of Google’s three earnings calls since the one he missed.

Page provided further reassurance in Tuesday’s post. “Thankfully, after some initial recovery I’m fully able to do all I need to at home and at work, though my voice is softer than before,” he wrote.

Doctors have not been able to diagnose why his vocal cords are hobbled, according to Page. The trouble could be tied to another health problem, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Page said he was diagnosed with that condition in 2003. He described it as a “fairly common benign inflammatory condition of the thyroid which causes me no problems.”

The weakened vocal cords affect more than just Page’s voice. “Vocal cord nerve issues can also affect your breathing, so my ability to exercise at peak aerobic capacity is somewhat reduced,” Page wrote. “That said, my friends still think I have way more stamina than them when we go kitesurfing!”

Page said doctors had told him his condition was “extremely rare.”

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