| Do you ever get hoarse? Have you ever completely | | | | When your voice becomes irritated, compensatory |
| lost your voice? Do you tend to lose your voice when | | | | muscles kick into action, while you, desperate to |
| you get a cold? Have you ever wondered if there is a | | | | produce sound, use more and more effort, resulting in |
| way to quickly heal hoarseness or avoid getting | | | | more muscle tension and worsening any potential |
| hoarse in the first place? | | | | inflammation. The tension and perhaps the swelling |
| What happens when you lose your voice and why | | | | become so severe that the vocal cords are unable to |
| does it happen? | | | | adduct, or come together, therefore they can no |
| If you were to search for help regarding hoarseness | | | | longer vibrate. The result? You've lost your voice. |
| or lost voice on the internet, or ask your ENT (Ear, | | | | Swelling could be involved, which may have gotten |
| Nose and Throat doctor) or laryngologist, you would | | | | worse because of the extra effort to speak or sing, |
| learn that acute hoarseness and loss of voice could | | | | but oftentimes, swelling is not the primary trouble. |
| be due to factors such as bacterial or viral infection, | | | | A lost voice is often a tension/cramping condition that |
| allergies, acid reflux, smoking and vocal abuse. You | | | | can be eased rapidly, and almost like magic, the voice |
| may be diagnosed with terms such as laryngitis, | | | | can produce sound again. Also keep in mind that |
| pharyngitis, tonsillitis, strep throat etc. Laryngitis simply | | | | people with trained voices develop such an |
| means that there is an inflammation of the larynx - i.e. | | | | awareness of their instrument that when starting to |
| swelling. Inflammation can be because of viral infection, | | | | feel under the weather, they know the best way to |
| bacterial infections, acid reflux, vocal abuse etc. | | | | warm up and keep the voice performing. |
| An ENT would treat a bacterial infection with antibiotics | | | | They know how to produce sound without having to |
| and would also prescribe rest and silence. From other | | | | add extra effort and tension, and without increasing |
| sources you may be advised to drink lemon tea, herbal | | | | swelling of sensitive tissues. They also know when it is |
| tea, tea with honey, chicken soup, cough drops, throat | | | | time to employ the proper exercises to free the |
| lozenges, etc. | | | | tension and create vibration... and when it's best to be |
| What if you found out that the allergies, infection, acid | | | | silent! A well-trained speaker or singer knows how to |
| reflux, illness or other difficulties didn't cause | | | | protect the body from irritants and infections, and how |
| hoarseness? | | | | to recover quickly when the voice has had too much. |
| What really happens when you lose your voice? | | | | Basically, a trained speaker/singer learns the signs |
| In simple terms, your voice is produced when your | | | | before the voice "goes out," and therefore is able to |
| vocal cords, or vocal folds, come together and vibrate. | | | | prevent hoarseness in the first place. |
| If they can't do that, you can't make a sound. Some | | | | When it's a good day, we can get away with |
| days, when your voice starts to weaken, what do you | | | | anything... when it's a bad day, we need our skills. |
| do? You try harder, because it takes more and more | | | | Functioning is difficult when we're attacked by |
| exertion to produce sound. In doing so, you use | | | | irritations, so remember, if you keep your body healthy, |
| muscles that wouldn't normally be used on an average | | | | it won't succumb quite as easily to bacteria and |
| given day. | | | | viruses. The same holds true for the healthy, strong |
| To maintain the body's equilibrium, the body has the | | | | voice. Develop awareness of your voice, learn what to |
| ability to compensate -- when you get an infection, the | | | | do in certain situations, and the occurrences of |
| body produces the heat of a fever to fight it. Muscles | | | | hoarseness or losing your voice will become rarer and |
| compensate as well. For example, if you hurt your | | | | rarer. |
| foot, you walk differently, with a limp. | | | | |