Voice Problems For Fast Talkers | How Speaking Environment Can Impact Your Voice

In this video, I talk about being a fast talker and how that might impact your voice. Find a voice expert if you have a voice problem.
Sierra is a speech-language pathologist who has been working for 9 years in the medical field. She supervises graduate students at the University of Oregon and works out of a private practice specializing in the adult population, Eugene Speech Therapy and BreatheWorks, that she used to own, but now focuses more on providing therapy and spending time with her family. For more information please visit eugenespeechtherapy.com
If you have a communication or swallowing disorder, please find an SLP in your state to work with at asha.org.

[@gs07007]

Hey, I’m Georg and 3 years ago I injured my voice while singing. For about 2 years I haven’t been able to talk without pain and swelling feeling at all so I’ve not talked at all. I’ve consulted with my doctors and they’ve told me to exercise speaking regularly even if there’s pain but I want to spread my story to get second opinions.
I used to sing a lot for several years before my injury. Some days even about 3 hours a day. Went to singing school sometimes, learn a bit of the (CVT vocal technique)
One evening, I started to sing and my voice was not that great that day and I also drank a milk product before what causes my throat to produce a lot of mucus and thick feeling.
I tried to sing one high note, but I couldn't reach it, so I squeezed my neck and vocal chords to get that high note and that’s how I injured my voice.
From that day on my vocal injury has gone worse to the point that for 2 years now, I haven’t been speaking at all. Just a couple of words in one year.
The reason for it is now when I speak, my vocal chords and thyroid area get “swollen” and painful(nerve pinching pain).
I put swollen in brackets, because I’ve been to a laryngoscope and the camera didn’t detect any swelling in my vocal chords when they looked at it. And also they didn’t find anything other than couple of granulomas(not on the vocal chords) which could have been caused by some food intolerance.
The vocal chords were just weak and atrophied.
Going back to 2021 when I firstly injured my voice.
The symptoms then were similar, there was the swelling feeling, and nerve pain.
(it’s really weird to me that there was no swelling detected on camera, because when I get the swelling feeling, my whole throat feels so swollen. I even got a thyroid ultrasound, but nothing was detected there)
So back then, basically I still could use my voice after the injury. So I had to not speak for a couple of weeks and then the swelling feeling went away.
And I could practice again and talk.
But as time went on. The swelling came back and back. I gave it more and more rest, to make the swelling go away.(one doctor back then even said that don’t stop speaking, but for me it didn’t make sense cause my throat felt so swollen and nerve pinching pain was quite bad).
So I gave it more and more rest and as the time went on, about a year from the injury, I could only speak about 20 minutes a day.
And it was difficult to avoid the swelling feeling and pain away, so I gave it more and more rest, until it became so bad that last year I couldn’t even laugh and this swelling feeling came back.
It has since got minimally better now, but still I can only laugh about 5 times a day or less.
My question is, if I start to practice again and ignore the swelling feeling in my throat and the nerve pain, would it injure me even more.
That’s what I’m worried about.
If someone told me that “100%, you will not injure your voice more when practicing through the pain”, then I would start.
The last doctor said exactly that, but I needed to get a second opinion somewhere else, because I’m scared to injure my vocal chords even worse, to the point that I could lose my vocal chords forever.
Thank you for reading it the whole way through and I would love to hear your opinion! Thank you in advance! :)

[@hollyhobbles4790]

Thank you so much. I have FND. And theses kind of videos are so helpful for me.

[@Thtboyjosh21]

Hey I was wondering if you’d be able to help me with my voice I have a deep voice but it feels restricted after a while and it doesn’t be deep anymore, how can I fix this

[@nhl843]

I am diagnosed with assymetric vocal cords and i have issues speaking in daily life and that comes with alot anxiety now.
Do you have specific exercises to help improve the condition please

[@SierraSpeech]

I recommend seeing a voice specialized SLP and voice specialized ENT so that they can provide medical and behavioral treatment. Good luck!

[@lizlacroixboehmkemusic2853]

Please don’t drive and record video