My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: nutty
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 09:00 AM

the voice is very sensitive to allergies and could be affected by some substance you are using or being close to every day. It could be a simple cleaning material or aftershave or any artificial perfume.

You could have allergy tests or just ask the doctor to prescribe an inhaler and see if that improves the situation.

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: SINSULL
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 08:42 AM

" i visited my local doctor and they told me to rest my voice"

Are you hoping we will tell you something different? Rest your voice or risk losing it for life. Get to a voice coach for professional advice.

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 08:41 AM

Where do you live?

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: GUEST,Alex637959
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 08:20 AM

Well Ive had vocal training in profeesional singing so my technique now is good, but i did used to have a terrible technique - thats when the scratchyness started, but now even though my yechnique is good and i am breathing correctly, it seems to be getting worse.....

it really could just be overuse i suppose....

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: Peace
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 07:04 AM

Alex, have you ever seen a voice teacher? That is, did you ever receive instruction in HOW to vocalize, use your diaphram (sp?), use your breathing?

Bruce

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 06:56 AM

You really must consult an expert. It sounds as though you have strained your vocal cords from over-use and perhaps (?) also from singing wrongly (forcing volume and register etc.). Musical theatre unfortunately can be a notorious voice-damager because it encourages a "belting" style. Very dramatic and effective, but it wears out the vocal cords, fast. One problem is that they develop nodes, which are like calluses. These are very hard to get rid of and can require surgery.

Really, as your doctors have already said, resting it is the only answer. If you have a tickly cough you are probably causing further harm by constant throat-clearing. I know it's a horrible choice, but I really think you will have to decide between your job and your voice. You also have to get a professional - a doctor who is also a voice specialist, not just a GP - to tell you whether the damage is permanent or not, because after enough abuse, it can be.

I really wish I could write pleasanter advice but this is the truth. There are a number of other helpful threads on Mudcat about voice problems. If you click on the link below you can read a similar one, and then look at the links in blue at the head of the page, which will bring up other related threads:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88583

The very best of luck to you - do please get medical help, and come back and let us know how you get on.

Bonnie

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 06:43 AM

try looking at your diet cut out all dairy products,and alcohol,gargle with salt water,get a tincture called glechoma[ground ivy]it helps to dry sinuses,it is possible you have catarrh draining from your sinuses to your lungs.
try herbal expectorants to clear mucus from your throat and chest,you need to find out what is causing you to cough,you should try a qualified herbal doctor,or a doctor or a homeopathic doctor

Subject: RE: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 06:28 AM

Go to an ear, nose and throat specialist... rest and lubricate as much as you can.

Warm up slowly - your description sounds like you've just been launching into stuff without warming up. The voice is like a muscle. Work it too hard too quickly and you'll "pull" it, making it sound scratchy and tickly. Start with some sub voce excercises first thing, something you can do on the bus without being stared at... and work up gently to proper excercises. If you are a stage singer you will have been shown these. If you haven't, then you have an appalling teacher or voice coach.

Get professional help.

LTS

Subject: My voice is heavily damaged! HELP!
From: GUEST,Alex637959
Date: 05 Sep 08 - 06:04 AM

Hi there!
I don't know if anyone can help me but I am desperate! I am a 20 year old guy and work full time at a private performing arts school. One of the main things we concentrate on is musical theatre, so there is a lot of loud singing involved.

I've tried resting, drinking, vocal spray, - i visited my local doctor and they told me to rest my voice, but it is SERIOUSLY damaged! I used to have a really rich full bodied voice, but now it is scratchy most of the time! When I wake up on a morning, my voice is sometimes deep and resonant, but after about half an hour using my voice (singing - even just talking!) it goes back to sounding VERY scratchy and monotonous to listen to.

Accompanying this, I also have a constant tickly cough! As I work in a performing arts school, I know that coughing just makes the voice worse, so I do it as correctly and gently as I can, most of the time trying to swallowe not cough.

The fact is, due to the nature of my job, I don't have an option to rest it as I work 6 days a week! I am only 20 and my voice is AWFUL! My colleagues use their voice as much as me, but they never seem to loose their voice.

I physically can't sing low notes, without it sounding like something to the effect of a scratchy yawn. My voice truly is in a big mess!

HELP ME PLEASE! ANYBODY! I AM BEGGING YOU!

Thanks
Alex x