Extended period of voice strain: what gives?
June 24, 2011 10:03 PM   Subscribe

What is up with my voice? I used to enjoy singing (casually: singing along to the radio, etc), and now it feels...unpleasant. Reading aloud is no fun, either. What to do to heal my voice?

Apologies for the vagueness, but this is so subtle that I've only just begun to notice it's a Thing.

Basically: I feel like singing -- and sometimes even speaking -- has become very, *very* slightly unpleasant (almost unnoticeably so -- but I'm noticing, obviously). In the last few months, I've stopped being able to hit notes in Your Average Pop Song Sung By Artists with Mediocre Ranges, and tonight I wanted to read some poetry aloud but it felt like an...effort, somehow.

Possibly related factors:

1) At night, sometimes, when lying in bed, I feel like I can't swallow too well.
2) The exterminator who came six months ago (and then four, and then two) to treat my building left diatomaceous earth everywhere, which I understand (thanks to my googling two minutes ago) can be harmful to inhale in large quantities. I'm not sure the quantities in our carpets and behind our bed would be considered significant, but I certainly plan on vacuuming it up tomorrow.

I do plan on speaking with a doctor about it. Just curious if anyone else has had this happen, or if it's a sign of aging, or what. (I'm in my early 30s.)
posted by artemisia to Health & Fitness (10 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: It's probably not the diatomaceous earth, unless you've been kicking it up or snorting it like cocaine.

It is a dessicate, though, so if there's a lot of it, it could be drying out the air, which could have those sorts of effects. Air conditioning would be much worse in that regard, though; do you have the AC on?
posted by Sys Rq at 10:22 PM on June 24, 2011


Not much data to go here, but there's all kinds of things that could cause this.

The swallowing thing - if it doesn't feel like allergies or a cold or something mucusy (or if it does) there's a possibility of silent reflux , or a motility (swallowing) disorder. All kinds of fun drugs you can try for that.

Or, maybe something that will just go away on its own after a while. : )
posted by bitterkitten at 10:30 PM on June 24, 2011


I've sometimes had discomfort when singing/speaking, especially after using my voice a lot (particularly singing loudly or shouting). I've been helped by not using my voice at all for a while (a day or two in college), and by drinking lots of fluids, especially warm tea. Couldn't hurt to try while you wait to see the doc.

Also, do you belt a lot when you sing, and/or strain to hit notes? Alternatively, do you have a job where you talk, sing, or shout a lot? I'm not a doctor but I used to sing a lot and these symptoms remind me a little of vocal nodes, or lumps on your vocal cords that develop from strain and prevent them from closing properly. Teachers and singers are particularly prone to them, and they can be aggravated by stuff like acid reflux also. Fortunately, nodes are reversible, even more so when caught early, so it might be worth raising that possibility with your doctor if any of this sounds familiar.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:04 PM on June 24, 2011


Best answer: Nodes is one possibility, but my guess is that your voice hasn't progressed that far yet.

When you say it's unpleasant, can you be more specific?
Does your throat feel tight?
Does it seem like when you try to sing or speak, your voice gets all scratchy and you end up coughing or clearing your throat a lot?
Does your voice lose power, meaning that it's harder and harder to get a louder sound out of it?
Is your vocal tone less pleasing than before?

You've already mentioned loss of range.

If my guess is right, and these things describe what you're experiencing, then it sounds like classic tight throat, brought on by straining your vocal chords too much. I get this when I try to belt - it means you're trying to use your vocal chords to control the sound and volume of your voice, rather than make use of your facial cavities (mouth, sinuses) as resonators. To continue doing that will lead to nodes, but this is an early warning sign. Basically, your vocal chords are raw and swollen from overuse.

You may also have a little throat cold or something that is exacerbating the pain in your throat. I've got a little throat cold right now, for what it's worth.

Forme de poire is right, the best way to deal with it is to back off for a little while and give your voice as much of a break as you can. Treat it as you would a cold, lots of liquids, but make sure to take dairy (if you can), or lace your tea with honey, which attracts and holds water. It will coat your throat and act as a balm, helping your throat heal.

Once your throat is back up and running, you need to learn some techniques to avoid belting. Mefimail me if you like, I can give you some exercises and pointers.
posted by LN at 6:47 AM on June 25, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks for these suggestions, they're very much appreciated.

I don't speak much at all in the course of my work day, since I work from home, all by myself, on writing projects. So, scratch strain...

As far as belting -- yep, I took voice classes for five years as a teen, so I know exactly what you mean by this. And, yes, I have been known to do it when singing along to the radio, but I'm troubled by the notion that three minute bursts every couple of days could do such damage. (I mean, Taylor Swift belts a whole lot more than me, and she seems to be doing fine. ;)

I'll definitely ask my doctor about the possibility of a node, etc. This has been going on for a few months now, so it's time. And I also have an off-and-on ear ache (since about a year ago) which of course is now terrifying me as a possibly related symptom. Ugh, googling random medical concerns is never a good idea. :-/
posted by artemisia at 7:54 AM on June 25, 2011


Artemisia,

I used to think the same thing about pop stars, how they seemed to be able to belt with impunity. Then I saw a show one time about Ashlee Simpson's rise to fame, and they showed her complaining of exactly the same things, sore throat, etc. The doctor gave her a cortisone injection to bring down the swelling, and onstage she went.

Pop stars cannot belt with impunity. It catches up with them in the end.
posted by LN at 7:58 AM on June 25, 2011


Best answer: I used to think the same thing about pop stars, how they seemed to be able to belt with impunity.
Freddie Mercury, who had had no formal vocal training, once said that hours after a concert his throat always felt like he'd swallowed a football. (This was during the mid-70s, when Queen toured a lot.) He ended up getting those cortisone injections, too, along with stern instructions to see a vocal coach and learn about voice exercises, etc.

I'm thinking, Artemisia, that if you don't speak a lot during the course of the day and then start belting out a tune along with your car radio it's like a gymnast doing the splits without stretching and warming up first. The voice not only won't perform properly (you can feel yourself struggling to hit higher notes that you once sang easily), you'll also feel the effects of vocal "muscle strain" later. I'm not a professional singer by any stretch of the imagination, but I was often told by both friends and strangers that I sounded just like Deborah Harry when I sang along with a Blondie song on the radio. It was effortless for me for a while, but then came a time when my husband would play a Blondie tune in our home office during a work break and I'd try to sing along but it was an actual physical effort and I'd have to completely drop out on the lines that ventured into a higher register. I was perplexed and upset for a while ("Ohmigawd, I'm getting old, I have throat cancer," etc) and then it finally occurred to me.....Back In The Day when I could imitate Debbie I worked in an office where I spent a large percentage of my time talking on the phone and also to my co-workers. I was constantly using my voice. These days I work from home fairly silently, sitting in front of a computer and communicating with co-workers via email and only occassionally talking to my husband (who works with me from home). I do believe that this lack of regular vocal use is what has curtailed my (maybe yours too?) vocal range.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:00 AM on June 25, 2011


I'm experiencing this too. I have no advice for you, and am following the thread with great interest. I'm 32, and I used to notice I would lose my voice after a night of partying or the day after I coached or played a game (I shout a lot while I'm playing roller derby.) But now it's like I lost my voice several months ago and it just never gets back to 100%. Singing or shouting can sometimes be painful. I love to sing and I basically can't at all anymore; I both can't hit notes and it's painful. I used to talk and sing all day (I work with kids.) Now I try to rest my voice a lot, but it doesn't seem to be healing.

Also, I'm a loud talker ("I have no indoor voice!") and I talk a LOT. And I never ever ever drink enough water. I drink a lot of coffee & soda -- I'm aware I could make better choices there.

What type of doctor would one see with this concern? ENT?
posted by palegirl at 12:02 PM on June 25, 2011


Response by poster: I'm thinking, Artemisia, that if you don't speak a lot during the course of the day and then start belting out a tune along with your car radio it's like a gymnast doing the splits without stretching and warming up first.

Ooh, this is an idea. Maybe I'll start singing scales in the morning. (Ha. Flash forward to eight weeks from now, when I'm posting in human relations, My live-in boyfriend is ready to break up if I don't stop singing scales in the morning: what to do?)

Pop stars cannot belt with impunity. It catches up with them in the end.

True, true. I just thought that belting = abuse of the voice, and I'm not a chronic abuser in the way that pop stars are. But you're right, that doesn't mean this isn't a possible cause.

What type of doctor would one see with this concern? ENT?

I'd be really interested to know this as well. My GP is sweet but she's not too concerned with issues that seem "minor" and merely "inconvenient."
posted by artemisia at 12:30 PM on June 25, 2011


Best answer: ENT, or otolaryngologist -- ha, I just googled to make sure I spelled that right, and it turns out they are the same thing! So yeah, see one of those. They have little cameras that can look at your vocal chords to see if there is irritation.
posted by statolith at 2:59 PM on June 25, 2011


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