Honda Repair: 97 accord muffler, initial sound, looseness

Question
I have a 97 accord 4-cylinder.  Just recently I was driving the highway and suddenly my muffler began making a hard, loud noise.  Coming mainly from the bottom and end of car(on the muffler).  The car has been struggling when accelerating between 0-40mph.  The muffler has been getting louder since the initial sound was first heard.  I checked for any cracks or looseness, but none.  I will go to a mechanic for this, but is there anything that I may need to know, e.g. estimated pricing for a new muffler, if my old muffler may be repairable through the mechanic without replacing, or if there may be any additional problems which I may be facing?  Just want to know before arriving at mechanic's.

Answer
Sipiz,
Sounds like you have a hole somewhere in your exhaust. That is pretty common and you would need to go to a shop to have them look at it. Have them give you an estimate and ask to see what is the problem when they have it on the lift. For some reason, people tend to be more honest that way.
As far as the hard acceleration goes, that has nothing to do with your exhaust. You may have two seperate problems with the car. Have them look at that and ask for an estimate before they do anything. They may charge a diagnosis fee so you want to ask them that up front also.
Well thats about all I can think of.
Good luck and thanks for your question.
Gene