Caring For Your Voice

How does a voice disorder develop?

Both children and adults can develop a voice disorder. Physical and/or emotional factors can cause change or discomfort in a person’s voice. The following conditions may bring about a voice disorder:

  • Stress and/or anxiety
  • Gastric reflux
  • Lung conditions such as asthma or COPD can reduce the airflow needed
  • Arthritis or other conditions affecting posture
  • Recent cold or infection (i.e continual coughing or throat clearing)
  • Damage to the voice box from external injury
  • Imbalance in the voice box’s muscle tone
  • Misuse or abuse of voice (i.e untrained singing, excess smoking or alcohol, shouting or overusing of voice)

Tips to Care for Your Voice

DO'S
  • Drink lots of water to lubricate your vocal folds. You can try steam inhalation to soothe your vocal cords if they are dry, sore or irritated

  • Rest your voice if it feels ‘tired’ or sounds breathy, strained or hoarse. This means that you should not speak unless it is absolutely necessary. When you do speak, use a quiet ‘confidential’ voice rather than a whisper.

  • Turn off background noise such as televisions and radios when you are speaking.

  • Eat regular meals and avoid eating late at night. Allow 2-3h to digest your food before going to bed. This reduces the risk of acid reflux when you lie down at night. When you are lying flat, it may spill over into your windpipe and cause irritation and swelling of your vocal folds.

  • If you are aware that you suffer from reflux, see your doctor and ask for a prescription for antacid medication.

  • If you are overweight, try to lose some weight as this will help to reduce your reflux. Speak to your doctor if you need advice or help.

  • Avoid stress. Stress causes muscle tension which interferes with breathing. As breathing and breath support is vital for voice production, stress may be a major cause of voice problem.
DON'TS
  • Avoid smoking. Smoking causes the throat and vocal cords to become inflamed and swollen from the dryness, heat and tar from the tobacco smoke.

  • Avoid caffeine. Fluids such as tea, coffee, and fizzy drinks contain caffeine which can dehydrate your body and have a drying effect on your vocal cords.

  • Avoid alcohol. It causes the vocal cords to become dry and inflamed as well as having a dehydrating effect. Alcohol may also aggravate heartburn which is not good for your voice.

  • Avoid eating fatty and spicy foods which may lead to symptoms of acid reflux, which in turn can cause voice problems.

  • Avoid coughing or clearing your throat. When you do so, your vocal cords come together with force and if this happens repeatedly, you can cause them to become sore. Instead of coughing or clearing your throat, drink water, swallow hard, hard, yawn or suck a sugar free sweet.

  • Avoid air fresheners and aerosols. These release chemicals into the air which are inhaled when you breathe. This can irritate the lining of your throat and vocal cords.

  • Avoid spending large amounts of time in centrally heated or air-conditioned environments as the air you breathe can dry out the mucous linings of your throat and vocal cords.