How can i keep my voice healthy?

Occupational voice users - singers, teachers, and salespeople - use their voices to earn a living. Illness, injury, or even bad vocal habits can change the quality of the voice impacting a person’s ability to do the work he or she loves.

Speech language pathologists who specialize in the care of the voice often counsel their patients on vocal hygiene in order to help them learn how to stay in tip top shape vocally. These recommendations could be dietary or behavioral. For example, habits like throat clearing or whispering can be damaging to the vocal folds. Eliminating these “behaviors” from your vocal use can be a huge game changer for your vocal health.

Singers and professional voice users should think of themselves as “vocal athletes”. Wendy Leborgne and Marci Rosenberg discuss vocal health and fitness in their book, The Vocal Athlete. Through this book singers can learn about the impact of habits that are harmful to the voice as well as the role of voice therapy in getting a singer or occupational voice user back to optimum performance.