FYI - for the Final you need to know the following: who the laryngologist & the speech pathologist are and when to go see them; how upper respiratory infections affect the voice; and what a neti pot / nasal irrigation is. Any comments, questions, and/ or confusions about this chapter? Please comment below by class time on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Thanks!
Joanna
I was in a musical and about 3 weeks into rehearsals I completely lost my voice. I had to be put on vocal rest while still learning and rehearsing all the songs. The only time I was allowed to use my voice was at rehearsals or out of necessity until opening night. While it was challenging and frustrating at times my voice luckily returned to normal the night before we opened. Also, I was surprised learning that throat sprays can actually make your voice worse and more irritated since I used that while helping my voice recover.
ReplyDeleteI used to get bronchitis every time the season would change from summer to fall so I know that around that time of the year I'm probably going to go an see a doctor and get a cortisone shot, which I know is super bad for my voice. I will say I like to use the neti-pot, except for the fact that sometimes it feels like I'm water-boarding myself. I understand that homeopathic remedies are preferred over a pharmaceutical approach, but sometimes I feel like the natural cures are weak.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read up on the differences between laryngologists and speech pathologists and how speech pathologists generally have a more medically based foundation for treating the voice than vocal teachers do. Besides that, the thing that stuck out the most to me in this reading was the section that talked about prevention of colds and/or aiding the voice and vocal chords at the first sign of a cold or URI. Learning about what's good to drink for your body versus what has been advertised as good but may actually in some ways be more harmful for your voice than good was informative.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that when you are strenuously using your voice you should try and leave an entire day to be silent and rest your voice. It is a good reminder that our voice needs rest just like every other part of our body. On a similar note, I did not realize they have speech therapists just like physical therapists to work on correcting vocal issues. She mentioned how Throat Coat helped more than a placebo tea in a study; however, only for thirty minutes. I was wondering if it causes any problems or makes anything worse after those 30 minutes? Because I use that tea a lot and in my opinion it works well for me.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how it is stated in this section, that vocal problems can not be accurately diagnosed by how your throat feels or your voice sounds. I would have thought that would be the only way to figure out a vocal issue, when in fact you have to use equipment to figure it out. What I am starting to realize more and more is just how sensitive the voice is. So many other things affect voice, whether it be diet or our body, that I think we are not always conscious of. This goes with the part of the reading where it says that your voice is personal and it comes from inside you, yet we take it for granted. I believe that our voice is definitely over looked in most aspects.
ReplyDeleteMonique
ReplyDeleteI definately need to start looking into natural remedies. I have used throat sprays like crazy. Didn't realize that was bad, but come to think of it... it never really does help.
I really wish I would have read this in high school. My senior year I was in a musical and we had daily rehearsals. Towards the end I had strained my voice well beyond its limit. Not only had I developed pharyngitis but laryngitis too. It was incredibly Painful but we had no understudies so I got hopped up on medicine so I could do the final night. Had I known about the need for days of silence perhaps I wouldn't have gotten sick. I also wish I would have tried homeopathic remedies instead of the shots and drugs prescribed to me.
ReplyDeleteLily McGill
ReplyDeleteI've been in a lot of musicals and Throat Coat among other things are used like crazy instead of vocal rest. I didn't know that vocal rest was such a strong tool. I will say that I'm a big fan of pharmaceuticals mainly because my mom is a nurse. I know things like Airborne are horseshit and I've read studies about that. But I'm still a big believer in prescription meds when paired with a good doctor. I've definitely had night and day differences when I was sick during productions through medications from my doctor.
It seems as though we should rest our voices just as much if not more than we use them. That makes a lot of sense considering the muscle we use to speak are very small, and fragile. Unfortunately, i talk more than the average person should ever be allowed to! I need to work on just allowing my body to heal my voice as opposed to continuing to damage it by overuse and then quickly turning to pharmaceuticals and even things like tea or other natural amenities. i believe the natural stuff is the answer, it may take longer to show you results, but thats because the results are deep-rooted and long lasting, unlike quick results from pharmaceuticals that only seem to cover the problem for a short period of time, but eventually worsen it. I am shocked at the horrifying truth concerning throat spray....i used to go through a bottle of chloreseptic in weeks and had no idea i was hurting myself!! finally, im a firm believer in throat coat as well, i used that a lot in high school before vocal performances and it did the trick every time (;
ReplyDeleteI feel that after reading this passage of text I learned that our voice should really be taken care of. I also never knew that over the counter meds are harmful to your vocal muscles/ I talk a lot and would always get horse and would use these over the counter meds to sooth the pain.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really loved about this passage is that it when into precise detail literally about how to take care of your voice. For example, it tells you how to how to keep from getting a cold, washing your hands and using anti bacterial spray, how to handle the onset of a cold, taking vitamin C, nasal spray, lozenges, and even chicken noodle soup. But of course it tells you to call a doctor but I liked the specifics it gave. I also like the tea idea. I've never tried it but next time I am sick, I will be sure to try it. And I'll probably put a little lemon and honey in it to.
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