Taking Care Of Your Vocal Health

Your voice is as personal to you as the features on your face. And until something happens to it, we don’t tend to give our vocal health a second thought.

This is why World Voice Day, held on the 16th of April every year, reminds us to look after our voice health, just as we would our heart or brain health. So here’s a brief exploration of how to care for your voice and how breathing training, such as IMT and EMT with POWERbreathe, could offer vocal support if problems arise.

“Purchased one (POWERbreathe Plus MR IMT) at the start of the pandemic as I have regular respiratory infections caused by substantial vocal fold paralysis and damaged nerve/s in the throat from a stuffed operation. Wanted to build up/strengthen the diaphragm and throat muscles to help minimise risk. Has definitely been beneficial for me.”

Stu, Sydney

Voice Disorders – More Than A Hoarse Voice And Cough

While you might think that a voice disorder is more likely to affect professional singers, vocal problems are more common than you might think. If you are a teacher, coach, performer, broadcaster or parent, it’s possible for you at some stage to experience voice fatigue or vocal strain.

If you do notice a change in your voice and you find it’s affecting your day-to-day life, then it is worth asking your GP or other medical professional about it.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, changes in voice quality, pitch, loudness, or vocal effort that last longer than two weeks need to be taken seriously. These changes, known as dysphonia, affect how your voice sounds, such as sounding:

• Hoarse or croaky
• Breathy or weak
• Strained or with a reduced pitch range

Breathing Is Fundamental To Voice Production

The way your body produces your voice is complex. Voice production relies on your breathing muscles and a healthy set of lungs. These create the air pressure you need for vocal fold vibration which creates sound. But if your breathing muscles are weak or if you find yourself suffering from breathing fatigue, then this can affect your voice, too.

Breathing exercises, including strengthening your breathing muscles with respiratory muscle training, can reduce the effort needed to produce a sound and it may also help improve voice quality and endurance. This is where Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT/IMST), Expiratory Muscle Training (EMT/EMST) and breath control training can help.

• Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) is designed to improve maximum expiratory pressure (MEP). MEP has been associated with reduced vocal strain in people with voice disorders.
• Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) may help improve breath support for speech and voice – especially in conditions like Parkinson’s disease, where vocal strength is often reduced​. Furthermore, a POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle warm-up has also been shown to improve maximum phonation time, increase high and low-pitched notes, as well as expand the overall vocal range in singers.
• Breath Control Training, or flow phonation for voice exercises is the goal for healthy voice production and you can practise this with the latest Flow-Ball Ultra by POWERbreathe. You can see the original Flow-Ball in action for vocal health in this video from the UNED VoiceLab (from 11:40).

While Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctors will offer voice therapy for helping to improve voice disorders, adding targeted respiratory muscle training and flow phonation could help to elicit improvements faster and more effectively.

Tension Around The Voice

This video for World Voice Day from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery mentions how muscle tension can contribute to voice problems. Such tension can be a result of how you breathe. If you’re breathing shallowly from your upper chest then you’re increasing the tension in your neck and shoulders. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing will help you to relax these areas of tension.

Both IMT and EMT, in addition to strengthening your breathing muscles and reducing breathing fatigue, support better breathing techniques. A better breathing technique can help to reduce this tension which could be hugely beneficial if you have a voice disorder but also for people in professions that demand a strong voice. Additionally of benefit in professions such as teaching, speaking, coaching or singing, EMST is shown to reduce the perceived effort required to speak.

Voice Recovery, Rehabilitation And Resilience

If you are recovering from a voice disorder or even surgery, breathing training now plays a key role in the prehabilitation, as well as, rehabilitation of many medical conditions.

With voice therapy often prescribed before and after surgical intervention, strengthening your breathing muscles beforehand may support better vocal outcomes, just as respiratory muscle training improves outcomes following other surgeries.

Furthermore, breathing training is drug-free and non-invasive so can be done at home in just a few minutes a day – making it a practical option for long-term voice care.

Find out more about these two POWERbreathe medical devices:

• EX1-Medic EMT for expiratory muscle training
• Medic Plus IMT for inspiratory muscle training

Everyday Tips For Vocal Health

In their video for World Voice Day, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery suggest the following for protecting your voice:

• Stay hydrated (especially if you drink a lot of caffeine or alcohol)
• Avoid smoking or exposure to smoke
• Rest your voice when you know you’ll be using it a lot
• Don’t ignore voice changes that last more than 2 weeks
• Seek help from an ENT or laryngologist when needed

To this list, we suggest adding breathing better and training smarter, because your voice will thank you for it.

For Professionals Whose Voice Is Their Profession

And last but not least, whether you’re a teacher, singer, actor, call centre staff, fitness instructor or someone who uses their voice in their profession, your voice is your livelihood. When it suffers, so do you.

If you integrate inspiratory and expiratory muscle training into your daily routine, you will build up your vocal stamina, reduce vocal fatigue and be able to perform with more control and confidence. It’s a small investment in your most valuable instrument.

Celebrating World Voice Day

If you are living with a condition like dysphonia or an age-related change to your voice, known as presbyphonia, or simply would like to protect your voice for the long term, your breathing is a powerful place to begin.

So on this World Voice Day, why not make time to think about your voice? What does it say about you? How do you care for it? And could a few minutes of breathing training each day be the missing element in your voice care?

Want To Learn More?

Explore the POWERbreathe range of IMT devices, EMT devices and Home Breathing Therapy devices to support your vocal health and performance.

Flow-Ball Ultra® Breathing Exercise Tool for Teaching Breath Control

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Respiron Breathing Therapy Device

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Breathing Trainers – IMT and EMT

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