Unfiltered Thoughts

2023.02.04 – 0765 – How Snoring May Be Causing Voice Problems  Mouth breathing and snoring - can dry your vocal folds (as we saw previously, part of the job the nostrils have is to humidify the air as it enters your body). Although it’s OK to take gasps of air through your mouth as you speak, try to otherwise inhale through your nose. That’s especially true at night otherwise for many hours you will have dry, unfiltered air passing your larynx. If you sleep on your back, you’re especially prone to such ‘bad breathing’; try to consciously sleep with a closed mouth and consider having a humidifier in your room. It’s almost obvious to say that if you have a problem, either short or long-term, with breathing through your nose you should consult a specialist. Not only is it a case that ‘the nose knows best’ when it comes to inhalation, but it also is one of the resonators of the voice which helps create a nicer, warmer, fuller sound. Oh, and it’s always good not to just rely on your mouth for your breathing needs, and to have a fully working backup! Rest – a good night’s sleep will help your entire body as well as your voice. If you are well rested then your brain will be sharp and you will make fewer mistakes and so will be more confident and will sound better. Your session will take less long and so will have less time to get tired!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.02.03 – 0764 – How Meds Can Hurt Not Help Your Voice
 Medications – Again, sticky-sweet, tongue colour-changing over-the-counter lozenges do not touch your vocal cords. Although they might have a placebo effect (you feel as though they are helping, and so your confidence returns), the ones with anaesthetic or numbing properties may actually be causing further damage, giving you a false sense that everything’s OK. Instead, focus on the root cause of your vocal fatigue by practising with a vocal routine. Other medications can affect your voice too:·        Inhalers and steroid sprays·        Antihistamines (such as hay fever remedies) can also dehydrate·        Antibiotics·        Antidepressants ·        Oral contraceptives ·        The menthol in some cold remedies may be an irritant ·        Decongestant meds for nose and throat problems often work by drying out the local tissues. That’s obviously not good news. If you have a cold and a subsequently blocked nose, you may have a dried-out nose caused by your meds and a dried-out mouth caused by having to use it for breathing. Therefore, it’s essential that you take plenty of fluids. Alternative medication may include:·        water, gargling and sleep are free·        steam – is cheap·        mindfulness – takes just minutes·        warm pineapple juice – some find that this can help soothe a throat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.02.02 – 0763 – How Your Voice Is Affected By Oestrogen, Progesterone and Androgens  Menopause can also affect the voice.[1] Vocally speaking, oestrogen:·        affects how supple the vocal folds’ upper surface (the mucosal layer) is·        supports the folds’ mucus-making glands·        affects the deepest layer of the vocal folds, which produce lower and higher pitches

• blocks the effects of androgens, and so prevents the lowering of the voice

 Progesterone balances the effects of oestrogen as well as:·        causing decreased and thickened secretions of the outer layer of the vocal folds, resulting in drier vocal folds Androgens, including testosterone, which are naturally secreted in women’s bodies, can:·        cause the vocal folds to thicken, which lowers your pitch·        increase dryness of the vocal folds due to changes in the glands that secrete fluids near the vocal folds​. During menopause hormones may fluctuate day to day, making the voice sound unpredictable, unreliable and unstable:·        vocal cord swelling, resulting in less range and a general lower voice·        a drier mouth which may lead to more throat clearing·        reflux·        a ‘lump in the throat’ sensation·        excess or thicker mucus·        vocal fatigue from vocal cord muscle weakness impacting agility, power and projection in your voice·        pain in the throat or neck Don’t force your voice but try more warming up techniques (see later) to make your voice feel easier. [1] Lots more information in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5KhEgedozo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.02.01 – 0762 – How Hormones Affect Your Voice  Hormones - We know how boys’ voices change as they go through puberty, but so do girls’. Testosterone and oestrogen not only affect the voice directly in the vocal folds, changing their shape and so the sounds they make, but also indirectly as the overall body shape changes. Muscles and ligaments develop which can lead to increased lung capacity and other alterations affecting breathing and resonance.
For women this is not a one-off hormone flow: menstrual cycles will affect the voice directly in the larynx. During Days 24-28, a woman’s vocal folds may increase in size by around 30%. This can lead to a change in the sound of their voice (a lower range), and also to vocal fatigue and a loss of power.
Menopause can cause a drop in a female voice (while older age can make a male voice rise in pitch). Pregnancy can also affect the voice.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.31 – 0761 – The Voice Enemies Of Air Con, Carphones and Coughing Air conditioning – a dry throat can be caused by heating or air conditioning in homes, offices, trains, planes and cars. Try getting more natural air into your life, or invest in a humidifier. Carphones – you tend to talk louder on them as the mic is further from your mouth, because the signal may not be good, you are talking to someone else who is also on a mobile, and to counteract the ambient traffic noise.  Coughing – coughing is a complicated reflex action to clear the airway: inhalation, forceful exhalation against closed vocal cords and then a violent release. A large inhale almost fills the lungs, the glottis at the back of the throat closes and the stomach walls contract. The glottis opens suddenly, with an upward heave of the diaphragm, and air forced out by three different stomach muscles, at the rate of up to 50mph (80km)[1] across your cords. Not nice. So, if you have a tickle, don’t ‘hack’ as that will inflame your vocal cords even more. Simply swallow hard, preferably with some warm water. Excessive throat-clearing can be down to a dry throat, possibly because of an unrecognised allergy or because you’ve developed a habit of clearing your throat. Banging your very vulnerable vocal cords together is ‘violence against your voice’ causing damage to your delicate throat tissue, and possible development of nodules or polyps.[2]  Instead, retrain your brain to either swallow, lick your lips, or pause for a sip of room-temperature water in place of clearing your throat[3] which has the dual advantage of calming the tickle and keeping you hydrated.  Hoarseness – A rough, husky, croaky voice could be caused by the common cold, a laryngitis infection, chronic laryngitis (repetitive bouts of laryngitis, usually with a fever, and caused by regular voice misuse). It could be cancer, so go to a doctor if you’re still hoarse after two weeks. Continual ‘hoarse talk’ could lead to a swelling of the vocal folds. Again, a reminder that, although I know that fear is a big delayer, if something hurts, seek advice. You need to fix the underlying problems: not the cough itself but what’s causing the cough.
[1] The American Lung Association: https://www.lung.org/blog/sneeze-versus-cough [2] A good explanatory leaflet from the British Voice Association can be downloaded here: http://www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk/downloads/free-voice-care-literature/Difficult%20Vocal%20Problems.pdf [3] There are simple and complicated medical conditions (such as acid reflux or ‘GERD’, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) that may make you more prone to throat clearing, so check with your doctor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.30 – 0760 – Signs Your Voice Isn’t As It Should Be   (How To Use Your Voice For A Four Hour Show And Not Damage Or Lose It)??
Signs that your voice isn’t as it should be Of course, only you really know how your voice usually sounds and how you usually feel, but there are some tell-tale red flags that may indicate a current or looming problem: Effort - it all needs more conscious energy to speak, not just after a one-off long day, but regularly  Projection – you have to work hard to push or vary the volume of the voice  Throat issues - not necessary pain per se, but sore or tickly. You may want to keep coughing either a dry cough or one with mucus. Voice loss – suddenly losing your sound on a regular basis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.29 – 0759 – Potentially Unhelpful Vocal Rest   Potentially ‘unhelpful’ vocal rest This might include:Not speaking for two days before a studio session to “prepare my voice” – as an athlete might do gentle warm-ups before a big race rather than lie in bed all day, so you should give your voice gentle exercises A voice actor or presenter who feels exhausted after a 4-hour studio session, and decides to skip ‘warming down’ exercises to “save my voice”.​ Think about the ‘back-to-work work-flow’ of an athlete: they rest > exercise gently > train to return to full shape > race > warm-down and so on. Similarly, you too have to ease yourself back into any pro voice work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.28 – 0758 – The Importance Of Voice Naps   If you are using your voice a lot, try and schedule some specific ‘voice naps’ into your day, where you don’t talk for 5-15 minutes at a time on several occasions throughout the day. By taking ‘voice naps’ you can top up your ‘voice battery’. This may mean:·        Planning your schedule – spread out your vocal tasks, so for example taking a break from bulk-recording several podcasts in a row  ·        Planning your pauses - scheduling your ‘vocal naps’ so you don’t miss them. In a studio, ask for a break yourself, or take any break that’s offered to you; don’t be a hero by ‘powering through’. Most sessions will last 45 minutes or so before a break is taken, with a studio director determining that ‘right now’ is the best time. That may be because they are sensing tension, they need a quiet word with a colleague, they know that there’s a long page of dialogue coming up … all sorts of reasons. A break will rest you mentally, physically and vocally. Don’t use it as a chance to hunch over a mobile screen or make some calls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.27 – 0757 – Outside Elements Damaging Your Voice   As well as external environmental issues such as:·        Air humidity - dry air is thought to increase the stress on the vocal folds, so beware of studio air conditioning. Anything that cools it down or warms it up can dry out the air.·        Hydration - dehydration may increase the effects of stress on the folds Keeping an eye on how your ‘vocal battery’ is can be difficult for a working radio or tv presenter who will spend much of their day on the phone setting up guests, discussing stories in editorial meetings and talking with office colleagues, before rushing into a studio and going on-air. For home podcasters and YouTubers some of these issues are obviously less of a problem, but you may have other considerations which also put a strain on your voice such as talking with the family or raising your voice to the children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.01.26 – 0756 – Your Vocal Battery   PROFESSIONAL VOCAL STRAINIt is of course better to ‘defend not mend’ – and prevention is easier than a remedy. So, look after your folds and everything else that helps your body create a great sound. Be aware of how much you are using your voice during the day, and how much rest you are giving it.  The ‘Vocal Battery’Think of your voice-use as a battery: you start the day with it fully-charged but during the course of the day with the amount and kind of use, the battery starts to drain. What will discharge the battery the most:·        The amount you use it - how long you speak for·        The type of speaking that you do – close-mic work will have less strain than excitable live sports commentary outside in winter·        Your vocal quality - using a voice different from your usual one, for example, putting on a character voice for a book narration or video game character, or even lots of whispering, can increase laryngeal stress·        The intensity of your pitch - using a higher or lower pitch than normal will also increase laryngeal stress·        How loud you are – we tend to speak louder when background noise is loud, and this increases stress on the vocal folds, so reduce your time speaking at a loud party, gig or sports event·        How fast you speak – the folds move faster So, for a voice professional, try to plan your day of voice-use if you can: ease it in with slower scripts in your normal range at the start of the day, and more demanding ones towards the end. That way around and your voice will be prepped for the strenuous work. The reverse way and it could be tired and scratchy for the ‘straight reads’.  Funny, isn’t it? It’s almost socially acceptable to have a hoarse voice after a loud, late night, but if you woke up the next day and your vision was blurry, we might take that a bit more seriously.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.