The Case of the Weird Throats
- Hannah Faye Huizing
- May 16, 2018
- 4 min read
(This is my attempt to be Watson and Sherlock)
Students have been arriving with strange feelings in their throats. Each one complains of dryness, itchiness, or even not being able to make any sound when they try to talk or sing. As someone they've entrusted with their voices, I feel responsible for this. These students have been in rehearsals and school performances, and we recently completed our second annual recital. Perhaps I overworked them. But it wasn't until I talked to my best friend, Sarah, who is also a voice teacher, that I reconsidered this initial suspicion.
When Sarah or I find ourselves in a teaching quandary, we consult each other. I was encouraged to hear that the same phenomenon - or epidemic - was happening down in Harrisonburg, Virginia. We went to bed that night relieved that we were experiencing the same struggles and anxious to know the reason.
The next day I drove to Sag Harbor to meet with a friend for coffee and rolled down the windows to let the fresh air into my lungs. A few thoughts ran into my mind as I was driving: 1) "Oh, springtime, how I've been waiting for you!" 2) "Wow, I should roll up the windows lest I trigger my allergies." 3) "Hey. Everything we breathe passes our vocal folds." The game was afoot!
You see, when I used to imagine the larynx (yes, I think about it every day) I would paint a mental picture of the vocal folds retracting into tiny slots when we were not using them. But thanks to a wonderful podcast called "Vocalogical" I know our vocal folds do not live in little, protective slots when we're not talking or singing. They stay exposed. Everything you breathe in (smoke, fresh air, essential oils, etc.) passes by the folds and can irritate them. When I remembered that, I flashed back to this video of a backhoe hitting a tree, sending mounds of pollen into the air like a beautiful, greenish-yellow nightmare. All of us are breathing in that stuff. Since winter stuck around for so long, the pollen is back with a vengeance.
I know what you might be saying: "I don't get allergies." Unfortunately, no one is safe. Everyone is inhaling lots of irritants because of the increased pollen. This manifests in different ways. For those of us who suffer from allergies, we experience the symptoms with extra suffering. We expect our throats to be weird. But if you're one of the lucky ones who don't need to carry a box of tissues or nasal spray around, this has to be a puzzling feeling.
I Snapchatted to Sarah: I've got a theory (cue the music) that because everything we breathe passes our vocal folds and the pollen is so atrocious right now, we're all experiencing irritation in some form. A few hours later, she snapped me back to agree, saying, "Yes! We're all breathing in this ridiculous amount of pollen and dirt, which means little specks are getting caught on the vocal folds. And what happens when our vocal folds are irritated? Inefficient closure! This is also true for nasal sprays!" She might as well have said, "By Jove, we've got it!"
How do we fight this epidemic? We can't stay cooped up inside all day everyday, and we must breathe to live, so we have to take extra measures to care for our voices.
1. Stay Hydrated
Drink water! My students are probably drinking more water during their 45-minute lesson than throughout the day. But our bodies require more time than that to work our drinking water into the system, so our vocal folds become dehydrated if we aren't drinking regularly. So grab your water bottle, set reminders on your phone, and enjoy the benefits of hydration!
The change in the weather also affects the amount of moisture in the air. Humidifiers can help combat those changes, especially when it suddenly gets cold and the air becomes dry.
2. Be Mindful
How are you using your voice throughout the day? How loud and how often are you speaking? Do you whisper a lot? The way you talk throughout the day will affect your singing. If you use your voice a lot throughout the day without any periods of rest, you're overusing it. Your voice is your voice whether you're speaking or singing, and frequent misuse can damage or irritate your folds.
Even clearing your throat can hurt your voice. Now that I've planted a seed in your brain, count how many times you are clearing your throat during the day!
3. Rest
The body repairs itself when we sleep. When you're sick, you naturally want to curl up in bed under the covers and drift to sleep because your body wants to heal and fight the disease. So take a nap when you can and make sure you get a good night's rest so you can face the day with a refreshed larynx!
As the weather warms up, it's tempting to disregard caring for our voices the way we do during the winter, but your body and voice are affected by every changing season. You must care for your instrument the whole year round!
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