Lost Voice

October 5, 2007 6:25 PM

How to do you recover from losing your voice?

I have a friend who just recently started to lose her voice. At first it was just raspy but now she seems to only be able to whisper. Does anyone know a way to fix this or just help recover her voice?

posted by meta.mark to health & fitness (14 comments total)

Don't whisper; it's very stressful for vocal cords all covered with phlegm. Total vocal rest, or as near to it as at all possible.

Drink lots and lots of water.

Maybe an expectorant or decongestant (depending on which side the phlegm is coming from)?
posted by eritain at 6:32 PM on October 5, 2007

Sorry, not very helpful, is it? The good news it it will probably be back in a day or so.
posted by eritain at 6:33 PM on October 5, 2007

Well, the obvious thing is that she should see a doctor to determine whether it's simple cold-related laryngitis or something more serious.

If it's garden-variety laryngitis, then what I've done is totally rest my voice. Whispering is actually more stressful for the vocal cords than speaking, so she should avoid it completely except for things that she can't write down. (Test it yourself: say something in a normal volume voice; then try to whisper the same phrase loudly enough to simulate talking -- it feels harder, doesn't it?). When I've been reduced to using that whisper-talking, it's absolutely exhausting for my whole neck, head and chest.

Then just the usual cold-care things: lots of rest, lots of warm or tepid fluids (non-caffeinated herb tea with honey, non-citrus juices, broth), no sugary things or dairy products, which always made a sore throat feel cloggy and sorer.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on October 5, 2007

Does she have a cold, or has she had one recently? If so, vocal rest and it will come back. If she hasn't and it started on its own then she definitely needs to see a doctor. One possible cause is acid reflux. I have had a couple of bouts where I had no acid signs except I grew very hoarse. The doctors put me on PPIs and I was fine a few weeks later. I never would have thought of stomach acid, because I had no other symptoms.
posted by carpographer at 6:49 PM on October 5, 2007

She needs to tell everyone around her, "Don't fucking talk to me." I lost my voice over Thanksgiving one time, and my whole damn family kept talking to me, even though they knew I lost my voice. It's amazing how hard it is not to try to croak out some kind of answer when people insist on talking to you!
posted by jayder at 6:55 PM on October 5, 2007

be vewy vewy quiiiiet I'm hunting wabbits....

no seriously she needs to not talk as much as possible to heal, I had laryngitis last fall for nearly 3 weeks I think it held out so long because I wouldn't shut up, though in my defense my job at the time was a phone job. Lots of fluids, get good sleep, and stop talking. Warm Tea is a wonderful thing.
hope she feels better soon
posted by meeshell at 7:39 PM on October 5, 2007

Eat honey and stay hydrated.
posted by wtdoor at 7:48 PM on October 5, 2007

Yes, don't talk. Get a pad and pencil for communication. And gargle warm salt water.

/my mom
posted by trip and a half at 8:24 PM on October 5, 2007

no cold drinks,
hot water with lemon and honey,
breathe through mouth in a hot shower,
sleep an extra hour,
don't whisper or talk: silence as much as possible.

there's a kind of lozenge called meloids that are kind of hard to find, not to mention kind of gross (strong licorice flavour), but they work well.

and here is a link to more advice.
posted by twistofrhyme at 10:12 PM on October 5, 2007

Mostly what everybody else has said:

Thayers.
THROAT COAT Tea with honey and lemon.
Gargle warm salt water.
No talking.
Lots and lots of rest.
posted by pazazygeek at 11:14 PM on October 5, 2007

I just got over a throat infection and lost my voice for several days. Total vocal rest does help. It gets frustrating when you can only half talk and gesticulate wildly. One thing I didn't do enough of was drink, even though that helps the most. It can be really painful to drink when you're in this state, but I found that once I forced myself to do it, things improved quickly.
posted by wackybrit at 7:12 AM on October 6, 2007

Definitely she should carry pencil and paper around with her. It's awful not being able to communicate.
posted by amtho at 7:59 AM on October 6, 2007

Wow - I just got over this. All last week I didn't have a voice and I'm still kinda raspy at times. I drank cold water only when necessary, and for the most part drank warm tea. I didn't talk at all. I slept more in a week than I have in six months. And at types, I used Chloroseptic spray when I did have to strain my voice. With all of that, I only lost my voice for two days, and spent the rest of the week recovering. I did have to work during that time, so I pulled up an empty Notepad doc and used that for communication.
posted by damnjezebel at 1:53 PM on October 6, 2007

The last time I started to lose my voice, it turned out that my asthma was acting up. Asthma? I didn't even know I had it. But I got really hoarse and raspy (in addition to coughing, not being able to take deep breaths, etc.). The doctor helped me get everything under control, so I'm adding a vote for seeing the doc.
posted by bassjump at 10:19 PM on October 6, 2007