Get your voice back: Taking care of voice problems

While issues with the pitch, the volume or the tone of voice are not uncommon, voice problems can be troublesome for many people.

Mr Julian McGlashan, renowned consultant ENT surgeon with expertise in voice and throat disorders - including those of professional voice users - explains how voice problems can be self-managed and when specialist help should be sought.

How can voice problems affect daily life?

A patient’s daily communication and general wellbeing can become affected if the voice turns hoarse and raspy, or if it hurts to speak.

What can patients do to prevent and treat voice problems?

Patients with signs of voice problems can:

• Drink a minimum of eight glasses of water a day to keep the vocal cords well-lubricated. Other things that can also help involve using humidifiers to dampen a room and inhaling steam directly over water.

• Be aware of neck and shoulder tension from stress, posture mistakes, and extended periods sitting in front of a computer without breaks. Periodic stretches of the neck and back, yoga, and Pilates can help to manage these issues.

• Swallow hard, sip water, or huff to avoid continued throat clearing.

• Relax the vocal cords by humming a tune, doing lip trills, and resting the voice.

• Quit smoking, wear protective masks, and ventilate rooms to prevent irritants from entering the throat.

• Eat smaller and frequent meals, decrease the amount of acidic and spicy foods consumed, regulate the intake of alcohol or caffeinated drinks, avoid late meals or dinners, and use a foam under the mattress to manage the onset of gastric reflux which can also affect the throat.

• Include alginate (a complex carbohydrate derivative from brown algae) in their everyday life, taking it after meals and/or at night.

• For patients with high professional demands on their talking or singing voice (for example, singers or presenters), seeking expert advice and guidance from a speech therapist, or voice or singing coach can help to project the voice comfortably and lower the risk of injury.

What happens if there are no signs of improvement? When should patients see a specialist?

Further evaluation with a specialist is required for patients with symptoms such as hoarseness, weak voice, breathiness, roughness, pain, or tightness in the throat that lasts more than six weeks.

Mr Julian McGlashan is a leading consultant ENT surgeon with over 35 years' experience.

If you have voice or throat problems and wish to seek expert assessment for them, do not hesitate to visit Mr McGlashan’s Top Doctors profile today.