Spasmodic Dysphonia :: The Whispered Voice...

For those who desire to speak normally and those who have misplaced their voice.  It can be frightening, even terrifying to have our warm, beautiful voice replaced by a whisper.   But speaking is like driving a car, only for most of us, the voice is a mystery.  We have never been to “vocal” driving school and since the controls lie hidden inside our bodies, we’ve never touched them.  We’ve only operated by intuition.

When controls, such as vocal controls are hidden within our bodies,  they are mastered at a subconscious level.  Subconscious learning can be easily forgotten.   Sometimes, a bad technique can appear out of the blue and betray us.  We begin to speak and hear a sound that is not our own.  It seems foreign.  We are confused and frightened.  We go to doctors and speech therapists for repair, and they have no cure.  Where did my voice go?

To many people’s surprise an illness or traumatic event may be enough to get us to forget how to speak or embrace a “different” method.  This is because unlike professional singers or speakers, many of us have never consciously learned how to play the human voice like a musical instrument.

Retraining the voice is exploring the technical, mechanical and emotional elements of voice production. It has many aspects.  Two primary elements are learning how to speak using air pressurization from the abdomen and incorporating mouth/sinus resonance.  These are the first steps to getting your voice back.  It is a time consuming process that can take many, many hours of training to accomplish.  The road to recovery rests in becoming a “conscious” expert in vocal expression.  At this point, the spasmodic dysphonic has a choice.  To remain at the mercy of the betraying new technique or choose another path, to enter the world of vocal mastery.

The spasmodic dysphonic throat is often tender due to unconsciously and habitually adopting whispering as a speaking style.  Whispering is a technique mastered by under-pressurization of airflow during speaking and is devoid of head/mouth resonance.

When we under-pressurize the vocal folds they get dry.  When they get dry, they get irritated, become red and feel tender.  When people people get sore throats, they often whisper thinking it protects the vocal cords from irritation or harm.  This is false. The opposite is true.  Whispering irritates vocal folds as the activity dries them out.

Always speak at normal volume level, even when throat is tender.  Never whisper.   If throat is too tender to speak, get a small dry erase board, carry it around with you, writing down what you desire to communicate to others.  If throat is in pain, silence is always the best practice.  If in pain, don’t speak unless absolutely necessary, this permits the irritation and swelling to go down, speeding up healing process.  Whenever you must speak, always flex tummy first, pressurizing air and add mouth/sinus resonance.

When we whisper, the vocal folds are not vibrating enough to draw moisture from above.  They rely on moisture as they are always vibrating against each other.  Consider using throat lubricant spray such as Singers Saving Grace or Voice Ease until you can create pressurized resonance full time.  Another great product for sore throat is  Propolis Echinacea Mouth Spray by Herb Pharm.  You can get these items at most organic or health food stores

Also, for dry throat, consider getting a room humidifier.  Place it in your bedroom and run it at night while you sleep.  Consider running one full time in your office as well.  Here are some offered at Bed, Bath and Beyond

The vibrations of the vocal folds pull down moisture from above.  This lubricates them.  Your voice is croaky the following day because your vocal technique irritates your vocal folds.

Solutions:
Step 1) Pressurization:
Be sure to squeeze from the tummy/bear down/engage abdomen diaphragm every time you speak.  This will properly pressurize the vocal folds, causing them to vibrate properly and get lubricated from above. If desired, contact me for more information.

Step 2) Amplification:
Practice ooooom mouth resonation and “brat/Elmer Fudd” sinus resonation as often as possible during your day.  If desired, contact me for more information.

Step 3) Combination:
Practice pressurization and amplification:  To speak beautifully again, pressurize and resonate simultaneously.

Your beautiful true voice has never left you.  It’s still with you, like a dance move you’ve forgotten or the lyrics to the song you’ve forgotten.  Eventually with practice and patience, you will be able to pressurize and resonate every time you speak.

(Call 512.554.8771 or Request a Complimentary Consultation. Additional information can be found here.)