ACHTUNG!!

All of the nostrums suggested are probably quite helpful, but go back and read LilyFestre's post at 21 Nov 05 - 09:10 AM about six times.

Take it from one who knows!

In the early sixties, I started having some voice problems. I was singing about three nights a week, teaching classes in folk guitar two evenings a week, and giving private lessons during the day—in short, using my voice all day long, all week long. I was also taking a weekly singing lesson. My voice teacher said that he could tell there was something not right with my voice (higher notes were not good, low notes sounded husky, and although I have a good ear, I was wobbling on pitch—couldn't seem to control it). He gave me the name of an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist) he wanted me to see.

The doctor sat me down in the chair, poked his little mirror (like a dentist's mirror, but with a longer handle) into my mouth, told me to say "aaaaah," and peered at my vocal folds. He grunted, then reached for a spray bottle of some kind and sprayed my throat. Things sorta went numb and I found I couldn't talk. Whatever it was temporarily paralyzed my vocal folds and adjacent apparatus.

He told me that I had chronic acute laryngitis—an angry, red edge on both of my vocal folds—and even though I didn't sound all that croaky when I talked and sang, it was affecting my singing—and speech. If I continued to use my voice with this condition, I could do some real damage to my vocal apparatus. Prescription:    Give the voice a complete rest. Silence. For six weeks. Do not sing. Do not speak. And above all, do not whisper. That can be even harder on the vocal apparatus than talking. Come back in a week and he'll check me again. Then once a week until he declares me healed. But—when he does declare me healed, I was to continue my silence until I got back to my voice teacher and let him gradually bring my voice back. Continue to rest my voice until my voice teacher tells me it's okay to use it again. Follow his instructions to the letter!

Well, that sure put a crimp in my plans! I wrote a lot of notes and learned to communicate some by pointing and gesturing.

But it was either that or probably wind up with nodes or worse on my vocal folds and blow any singing I wanted to do in the future.

I did what I was told. It took a couple of months, but when the doctor turned me loose and the voice teacher essentially rebuilt my voice, I sounded better than ever, and I came out of it with considerably improved vocal technique, the better to avoid such happenings in the future. Since then, if ever I detect any untoward signs in my voice, I clam up and stay clammed for several days. Then, when I think things have cleared up, I very gently and light try a few vocal exercises and see how things go.

Don't mess with this! Go silent. Give your voice a complete rest. And see a doctor!

Don Firth