Independent Speech, LLC

It’s All in your Voice

Our lives are busy, we move from one activity to the next without a break. We know we need to eat better and get more sleep but we rarely think about taking care of our voice. All the hustle-bustle of our daily lives also affects our voice. So, what can we do to help maintain our voice? Below are a few things we should do everyday, whether our voice (or throat) is bothering us or not!

1) Drink plenty of water! This is good for your whole body. Hydration helps you feel better but it also helps your voice work better. It is recommended that a person drink between 48 and 64 ounces each day.

2) Try to reduce or eliminate caffeine…this is a tough one as everyone loves their morning coffee but caffeine actually pulls water out of your system (yes your vocal cords too) which can be troublesome for your voice.

3) Don’t shout. If you want to talk to someone in another room actually walk to the other room and talk to them. Limit shouting at sporting events…waive signs or pom-pons, bring whistles or other noise makers. Remember they probably can’t hear you anyway (especially if the game is on TV) so don’t hurt your voice shouting your support. You being there is great support in itself!

4) Rest your voice. If your voice is bothering you take a break from talking. Send a quick e-mail rather than talking to the person, send a quick text rather than calling. Think of other ways you can give your voice a break throughout the day!

If your voice has been bothering you please see a specialist. If you need to take frequent breaths while talking, your voice sounds harsh, breathy or hoarse, if your volume goes down while you are talking, if you have an uncomfortable feeing in your throat, etc. These may be indicators of a voice problem. As with any problem early identification and treatment is important to correcting the vocal problem. There are two specialists you can see regarding your voice. An ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) will be able to medically assess your voice to determine if there is a problem. They have two courses of action:

1) Treat the problem medically with possible follow-up speech therapy
2) Refer to a Speech Pathologist in lieu of medical treatment

A Speech Pathologist will train you on proper ways to use your voice. They will teach you exercises and behaviors that help take care of your voice and avoid future problems. They have a wealth of knowledge to help you have a happy, healthy voice!