Voice Disorders In Professional Users
Written by: Roselyn Mathew / Voice / March 15, 2023 / 8 minutes read
Professional voice users are people whose voice is essential for their jobs. Professional voice users include singers, teachers, speech language pathologists, actors, broadcast personalities, clergy and salespeople. Unlike other professionals who can do certain modifications to not use their voice and function adequately, professional voice users need to use their voice to perform their job requirements. Therefore, their career would be greatly affected if they have a voice disorder. They are also more prone to have a voice disorder as they use their voice more than other professionals.
Common voice disorders in professional voice users
Vocal Nodules
Vocal nodules are small growth in the vocal folds. They can be on one or both vocal folds. They are generally caused due to constant talking, yelling or frequent singing. For this reason, they are also called singer’s nodules or screamer’s nodules. They can be acute or chronic. Acute vocal folds are soft and can go away within a short span of time. Chronic vocal nodules are hard and will take a longer time to go away or might require a surgical excision. Vocal nodules cause hoarseness in voice, losing voice while speaking and an inability to speak continuously for longer periods of time.
Vocal polyps
Vocal polyps are fluid filled elongated growth on one or both vocal folds. They are generally bigger than vocal nodules. They are also formed due to vocal abuse or misuse like constant talking, yelling or talking in a different pitch. They might go away with voice therapy but if they are bigger in size, surgery would be required. They cause hoarseness of voice, vocal fatigue, breathiness and irregular voice or losing voice in between speech.
Muscle Tension Dysphonia
Muscle tension dysphonia is a condition where the vocal folds or larynx are extremely tensed because of which the vocal folds don’t vibrate well to have a clear voice. There are 2 types of muscle tension dysphonia- primary and secondary. In primary muscle tension dysphonia, there is no irregularity or abnormality in the larynx and it is only excessive tension in the neck and muscles in the larynx. In secondary muscle tension dysphonia, there are some structural abnormality or irregularity in the larynx and this causes overuse of other muscles to participate in voice production.
The causes for muscle tension dysphonia can be neurological impairment, anxiety, vocal abuse or misuse, gastrointestinal reflex disorder, hormonal changes, upper respiratory infections or smoking.
Symptoms include excessive strain while speaking, vocal hoarseness, breathiness, losing voice while speaking, inability to control pitch and loudness, feeling of lump in throat, tension in throat and limited pitch and loudness range.
Vocal cysts
Vocal cysts are fluid filled small sac like structures that are seen in the vocal folds. Unlike vocal nodules certain cysts are formed within the inner layers vocal folds and not just on the surface of the vocal folds. Vocal cysts are generally caused due to yelling, speaking in a different voice, injuries to the vocal folds or acid reflux.
Symptoms include hoarseness, inability to control volume and pitch, losing voice while speaking and breathiness.
Generally, cysts do not go away with voice rest or voice therapy and require surgical excision.
Hormonal changes
After menopause, women generally have lower production of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) and a greater production of male hormones (testosterone). This leads to lowering of pitch and affects all female professional voice users, especially female singers, as they would find it difficult to maintain a higher pitch while singing. Hormone replacement therapy would be effective in such situations.
Age related changes
Aging can cause muscle atrophy in some individuals. Aging can cause atrophy and shrinkage of vocal folds and muscles surrounding the vocal folds. This can cause reduced loudness and a greater strain in the vocal folds while talking. Excess strain on the vocal folds leads to voice disorders that are associated with excessive voice usage.
Unlike other professionals who can do certain modifications to not use their voice and function adequately, professional voice users need to use their voice to perform their job requirements. Therefore, their career would be greatly affected if they have a voice disorder.
Tips to maintain healthy vocal folds
Following certain dos and don’ts can help in maintaining healthy vocal folds and reduce strain on the vocal folds. These are:
Have an adequate water intake
Make sure to not yell, speak loudly or speak excessively
Avoid smoking and alcohol consumption
Maintain proper posture
Have adequate breath support
Limit intake of tea, coffee and energy drinks and drinks with caffeine
Avoid intake of excessively cold or hot food or drinks
Limit consumption of oily and spicy foods
Avoid dry and smoky atmosphere
Limit talking in noisy places
Avoid speaking while exercising or while doing anything stressful
Avoid frequent throat clearing and deliberate coughing
Avoid sleeping or lying down immediately after having food
Ways to reduce vocal strain at work
It is mostly inevitable for professional voice users to not use their voice at work. However, following some practices can reduce vocal strain and prevent the occurrence of voice disorders. They are:
Usage of amplifiers at work
Certain professions require speaking with many people or speaking in noisy situations like teachers or people working in a train station. Having a good amplification system would reduce the strain to speak louder in such situations and prevent having a vocal strain.
Taking breaks at work
It would be greatly helpful to have small breaks from voice at work. For eg. A teacher can take breaks in between classes and do other work that doesn’t require speech, like preparing notes or correcting papers. This would reduce the stress on vocal folds.
Keeping humidifiers and using masks at work
Working in a dry or a dusty atmosphere can cause voice issues. Wearing a mask or using humidifiers can prevent such issues.
Using gestures, sign boards or alternate ways instead of speaking
If a person needs to give a similar response many times, they can use a sign board. Similarly gestures or head nodding can also reduce the effort of speaking. Using a whistle or hand clapping can be done to get attention from others.
Getting training or guidance from a speech language pathologist
Training and guidance can help reduce the effort and increase effectiveness in speaking and singing. Faulty vocal behaviours can also be detected and vocal damage can be prevented by consulting a trained speech language pathologist.
Conclusion
Professional voice users are people whose voice is essential for their work. A vocal issue has a greater impact on their lives when compared to other professionals. Following healthy vocal practices and getting proper training regarding voice usage would prevent vocal damage and voice disorders.
To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
