FROM: VOCAL ADVICE BLOG:
Hoarseness is one of the first, most easily discerned audible symptoms presented to a voice teacher that indicates the presence of a “vocal fault” in an otherwise physically healthy singer. The most common cause for vocal hoarseness is “hyper-functional phonation;” demanding too much from the voice, producing a sound that can be described by any one, or combination of the following adjectives: tight, tense, hard, edgy, strident, rasping, grating, rough, constricted or even strangulated. Hoarseness is a danger signal to you, the singer. If huskiness or soreness is a common result of your singing, then you should
1) stop singing, and if it persists,
2) see a laryngologist.
Observations and recommendations:
1. Screaming hard even once can do temporary damage to the voice. The voice has to recover in silence and with more than usual sleep. Give it more time than you think it needs.
2. Vomiting and the burning from stomach acids also require extended time to heal. Give your voice time. You should pay attention to resulting soreness as there are relatively few pain nerve endings in the throat! Give healing more time than you think it needs, and limit your voice use. Begin establishing the habit (if you don’t already have it) of gargling whenever you brush your teeth and after meals - rinsing out your throat with water.
3. Regularly speaking too high, or too low will often result in hoarseness. Please read my entry on “speaking” to help you find where you should speak without unnecessary tension.
4. Long-term misuse of the voice can permanently damage the voice. So, your concern is legitimate. A voice therapist or qualified voice teacher may be what you need to correct the problem.
5. The feeling of “a giant lump” in your throat is a definite indication of misuse. Stop singing. Give your voice more time than you think it needs to heal and recover.
6. Allergies do tend to exacerbate (aggravate) upper-respiratory and throat edema (swelling). So, allergies compounded with possible misuse of the voice would tend to make things feel worse, faster.
7. While my blog will give you sound advice and may help you to start thinking correctly about singing, you will more likely make the progress you should make toward using your voice healthfully by studying with a reliable voice teacher. If you live in the Northwest Georgia area (NE Alabama or Chattanooga, TN), you can contact me, otherwise, you should do some sleuthing, asking around and find a trustworthy teacher and explain to that person what you’ve shared with me.
IN THE MEANTIME, you can be …
a. Getting more than 8 hours of sleep a night, REGULARLY.
b. Drinking lots of clear (non-caffeinated) liquids.
c. Taking supplements (vitamins, minerals and herbs) to help boost your own immune system … and I would actually recommend the use of a drinkable form of Aloe Vera to have every day until your throat has healed. This can be purchased at most health-food stores.
d. Eating carefully. If you are in the habit of having ice cream or any kind of dairy products (pizza) in the evening before going to bed, change the menu to fresh fruit (e.g., grapefruit), and don’t go to bed on a full stomach, wait a couple of hours after you’ve eaten before lying down to sleep.
e. Sighing lightly on a downward vocal slide just after inhaling as if you’re about to “yawn,” (not ‘singing’).
Posts
