I realize I’ve been neglectful of my blog, but it’s not because I haven’t been busy. In addition to trying to sell enough copies of Advent to be able to justify continuing this venture, I’ve been trying desperately to cure myself of this vocal strain. I have to admit, I was silent for a long time because the voice strain was consuming me, and I didn’t want my blog to become a big whine fest.
I’ve made great progress, so I decided that I would share my experiences and maybe it will help someone out there.
When I first developed the voice strain, I did what any self respecting person does. I tried to ignore it and hoped it would go away.
After that clever strategy failed, I took the next step and went to an ENT. (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) He said my vocal chords were red, but free from polyps, nodules, lesions, and lounge lizards. In short, it looked like classic vocal strain. He recommended I go to a speech therapist and gave me the card of one he trusted.
Of course, the one he recomended wasn’t covered by my insurance. In fact, there were only four therapists who WERE covered. Oh, and by the way, three of them only work with children. Yes, that’s right, I had exactly ONE speech therapist to choose from.
I started going to see her, and thankfully, she was quite knowledgable. She taught me a lot about how the voice and the body work. She gave me several exercises to work on. First just breathing, then long “ahhhhhhh’s” then speaking multiple syllable words on a single pitch, then multiple pitches. I discovered that I use WAAAAAYYY too many neck muscles when I talk. It’s worse the lower I speak, and the more time I spent trying to “speak softly” so as to not strain my voice, the lower my everyday speaking voice became. How’s that for tragic irony?
I had to start practicing speaking in a higher register, keeping my neck muscles completely relaxed, and breathing deeply before speaking so I can speak on the breath, from the chest, not from the throat.
I know, right? None of that makes any sense. And yet, somehow, it does.
For a while, I felt like I was making progress. But it quickly plateaued.
I got very depressed. I wasn’t anywhere near cured, and I had no IDEA what to do.
I was desperate. I tried going to a chiropractor. She came highly recomended, and was absolutely wonderful! Her first couple treatments seemed to really help. But (1) she was an hour away. (2) she wanted to see me 3x/week for many months, and (3) it was really expensive, even with the generous discount she was offering.
I thought I had found “the answer” but with so many obstacles, it turned out that I hadn’t. I found myself back at square one.
After hitting rock bottom and praying very hard for assistance, a plan began to evolve in the farthest reaches of my mind.
But you’ll have to tune in next time to find out what it was! Until then…
Alexander M Zoltai said,
May 11, 2010 at 3:27 am
OK, I’m hooked…
Good thing I have your blog in my RSS Reader–I won’t miss what happens next!
I do hope you speak more about the emotional toll this took and also more about the spiritual lessons learned…
I’ve used my voice extensively for singing and public speaking but never had strain. Though, once, in a musical I was in, I learned the cure for excessive phlegm–a squeeze lemon!!
I noticed your ClustrMap–what a wonderful global spread of readers!!!
Leanne said,
May 11, 2010 at 3:41 am
That’s a great idea Alex. I hadn’t thought about exploring that aspect, but it was a very difficult time. And the more I think about it, the more I want to explore it. I don’t want to forget what it was like.
And yes,I like the Cluster Map too. All those little dots make me very happy!
Tiana said,
August 3, 2010 at 6:42 pm
This topic is of great interest to me. I need to go to a speech therapist because I am embarassed that I speak so quietly, I dont anunciate very well and often mumble. I wish I could learn to project my voice. I often feel like people talk over me all of the time. I cant afford to see a speech therapist and I dont have insurance. Do you feel like a speech therapist wouldnt be much help anyways. I know they are helpful for people with a stutter, and children etc but I am sceptical that it would work for me.
Thanks for your post
Leanne said,
August 9, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Tiana,
I don’t know if a speech therapist would help you or not, our problems are very different. However, I do have a suggestion, and it doesn’t require insurance. Have you ever checked out Toastmasters? It’s a public speaking club, they’re all over the world, and they can definitely help you by giving you helpful and supportive feedback, in a friendly “we’re all in this together” environment. It will help with both self confidence and volume. The other suggestion I have is to taking singing lessons. I know it sounds odd, but a great singing coach can teach you the mechanics of how to breathe, and how to project. (BTW, breath is indispensable when it comes to projecting your voice. No air, no volume.) If you’re a reader and are good at visualization, I also recommend the book “What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body” by Malde, Allen and Zeller. Very useful in understanding the mechanics of breathing. Did I mention how important breathing is for voice projection?
Don’t give up. This is definitely something you can do something about.
Good luck!
Leanne
Wire Shelving said,
December 3, 2010 at 10:33 am
my voice sucks on karaoke that is why i am taking sining lessons now from professionals *–
Dealing with Voice Strain (again!) « Verdanta said,
May 23, 2011 at 7:40 pm
[...] my office humidified, and still I managed to mess up my voice again. (Read about my first time here, here and here.) I’m not sure what triggered it, but the ENT suspects it was allergies. [...]