Vocal Support and Treatment for Singers and Speakers

THE SINGER, THE SPEAKER, AND THE SORE THROAT: PROTECTING YOUR VOICE

Follow These Tips on Taking Care of Your Voice

• ​Stay hydrated. The general rule for vocalists is 6-8 glasses of water per day. I saw a good rule of thumb-gauge your hydration by the color of your urine - it should be light yellow or straw color. If it is darker, increase your water intake. If you do not drink enough water, your vocal folds will become easily irritated.

• Get plenty of rest, eat well and exercise

• Avoid smoking, dusty, dirty environments

• Use humidification

Do not abuse your voice:

• Be careful when using "character voices" not to strain, and use especially good breath support

• Do not attempt to alter your "normal" speaking voice to create an effect; particularly avoid pitching your voice too low. (If you are using the lowest note of your pitch range for everyday conversation, this is too low).

• Avoid taking on roles that you cannot do, that is, don't attempt roles that are out of your range.

• Avoid abusing your voice.

• You should do nothing to your voice that results in hoarseness and/or throat pain.

• Avoid yelling or screaming to the point of causing hoarseness.

• Avoid singing so loudly that you develop hoarseness, and avoid singing in situations that are so noisy that you cannot hear yourself singing.

• When you have a cold or laryngitis, do not try to talk or sing "over" the problem without decreasing the inflammation., since this can lead to vocal-fold damage. See your doctor

Avoid voice overuse and strain to bring optimal quality and range

"Oh No...I have to present at a big event!!"

Occasionally, a musical theater performer or speaker will come into my clinic VERY concerned because they have to "perform" and have a horrible sore throat, which will make it impossible:

The solution to this problem would lie in the cause. The most important question to ask yourself is long has this been going on?" It is either a new sore throat (acute) or long-term sore throat (chronic).​​​

The Acute Sore Throat in Singers and Speakers

Usually, a new-onset sore throat is from a cold—a viral illness. Performers and public speakers tend to  wear themselves out, burning the candle at both ends: They don't hydrate, they don't eat well, and they don't sleep much. They are anxious. And, they may exposed to a lot of people in their audience. Their immune system suffers, and they get sick—a little too often.

If you are in this predicament and have a sore throat, ask yourself: Are you getting a cold? Do you have drainage? Are you clearing your throat more than usual?

If you need to sing or speak today or tomorrow, the goal of your treatment will be to decrease your throat inflammation FAST. You don't have time to try preventive treatments, treatments that take a couple of days to work, or those "remedies" that just to make your throat feel better (without decreasing the inflammation—it is not recommended you try to sing or speak loudly, or even a lot when they have throat inflammation—you can make pain worse and even damage your voice).

If you have more than a sore throat - if you also have cold symptoms- a cough or runny nose - your approach will be a bit different.

General Approaches to Inflammation and Comfort

FLUIDS: Hydrate well (this is a MUST for any performer or presenter, all the time!).

• Just before a "performance," drink water (preferably at room temperature). Add honey and lemon. Avoid extremes of cold liquids (which constrict vocal cords) and hot liquids (which may swell vocal cords).

• After the presentation, you can try decaf tea with lemon and honey (see below). You can also try COLD WATER/POPSICLES/ SMOOTHIES - some people feel that this helps more help more because (cold decreases inflammation). Again, not right before your presentation.

VOICE REST (and this means talking too) during times you are not performing. 

Over-the-Counter Approaches

​Throat Coat Tea: This is actually a product you can get over-the-counter which is also an herbal tea. I have had quite a few patients comment very positively about the usefulness of this herbal tea product, and preliminary studies have shown it to be helpful when compared to placebo. It contains some herbs that are reputed to help throat inflammation: Slippery Elm, licorice, marshmallow (all anti-inflammatories), and a small amount of peppermint. Occasionally people complain about the taste.

​Anti-inflammatories

Ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin are all the same things), Aleve (Naproxen), or Tylenol over the counter as directed - with food. Most people agree that Ibuprofen and Aleve work better as an anti-inflammatory. Most pills take about 30 minutes to start working, so you will know. Instead of ibuprofen, acetaminophen (Tylenol) may also help, but probably not quite as well.

​Honey 

Honey has anti-inflammatory properties to help calm a sore throat. It can naturally soothe the throat and ease swelling. Add raw honey to warm water or tea or to create a fast-acting sore throat remedy. The best type of honey for this is reportedly the Manuka honey because they have some antimicrobial properties (There are different grades of Manuka honey, so you will want to be sure to get the better quality: Raw, unpasteurized honey is easier to find, and good because the nutrients and essential elements have not been removed by pasteurizing. Some, but not all, people feel immediate effects on their throat from this.

​Lozenges

Singers and others who have to exert their voices should avoid lozenges with numbing properties (like Cepacol/Secrets-benzocaine products) for some time before an event. They numb your throat but do not reduce inflammation, and you can damage your vocal cords without knowing it. Avoid menthol lozenges as well as they can cause irritation to the vocal cords and dry them out.

• Grethers Pastilles "for throat and voice". These are Organic and reputed to have been originally created by vocalists. There are several types of Grethers that contain vitamin C and claim to have immune-building properties, anti-inflammatory properties and some antimicrobial properties. These get good reviews. There are very few stores that sell these over-the-counter (they have a store locator). Order online and keep them around to take as needed.​

• ​Vocal-Eze - The primary ingredient in these is peppermint, which "cools" your throat. These get some good reviews by singers- but NOT right before a show. In general, menthol that numbs and dries your vocal cords. May be hard to find in many areas.

• ​​​​​​​​​​Ricola Max Throat Care- These lozenges are good but sometimes have "too much" coverage - covering both a sore throat and cough. They contain elder, horehound, hyssop, lemon balm, linden flowers, mallow, peppermint, sage, and thyme. Ricola is fairly easy to get at any pharmacy.

Natural Remedies: Herbals/Supplements/Sprays

​Some sore throat remedies that are good for most people are NOT good for the singer.  The following addresses those things that may help the singer in particular.

Some of these might provide some more immediate relief but, because they are often hard to come by, are not practical for the person who has "to sing tonight" unless already in the medicine cabinet. Many of these are also good for throat maintenance and throat relief in non-urgent situations - which will help if used over the course of a day or two.

If you tend to get colds a lot along with sore throats, it may be good to keep one or two of these remedies on hand.

Some of these have been shown to have antiseptic and/or antibacterial properties as well.

They include:

THROAT SPRAYS

Many of the over-the-counter throat sprays contain alcohol, which is not good for vocal cords in general and will dry them out. They also tend to work immediately but wear off quickly.

The following are some recommended for singers:

Cylor Voice 37 (used to be Sprouts Voice Remedy) is made from natural ingredients and is non-alcohol-based. This particular product contains slippery elm, which is known to help sore throats, and horseradish, which is also known to soothe. It's a little spendy and hard to find, but it has very positive reviews - great if you use your voice a lot. It boasts immediate relief and has good reviews from vocalists. 

GARGLES:

Saline Gargle: 1/2 tsp salt in 1 c warm water. Gargle and spit 2-3 times/day. 

Vocal care and techniques help enhance communication and audience engagement

Immediate Anti-inflammatory -Prescription Options From a Healthcare Provider

When all else fails, consider seeing a healthcare provider. They can often tide you over with a short course of steroids/prednisone to decrease the inflammation. These are awesome anti-inflammatories, and they work pretty fast if you are in a pinch.

Steroids are not without their potential problems - especially for people with underlying problems like diabetes, psychosis, high blood pressure, and ulcers - but when the show must go on, it must go on.

Avoid: antihistamines (drying), cigarette smoke and, vaping (irritating)

If you are at liberty to change your vocal dynamics, range or make the piece(s) a bit less challenging (i.e. range) you may try to do so but often this is not doable.

The Chronic Sore Throat in the Singer and Speaker

If you get very frequent sore throats or hoarseness, you need to investigate: Ask yourself if you are incessantly throat-clearing. Do you "abuse", overuse, or strain your voice? Do you have reflux? Allergies? What is your environment like, smoky? dusty? How is your diet? Do you drink alcohol? 

If you are having chronic problems and you can figure out the root of the problem, then you may be able to self-treat to some degree. If you are not able to figure out what is wrong, the best person to see is an otolaryngologist who specializes in vocalists. Once they can find the problem, they can find the solution.

​BREAK A LEG !