7 Steps to Ensure Your Voice Survives the Royals' Postseason

After the Chiefs’ domination in Monday Night Football at Arrowhead and the Royals’ first postseason win in 29 years last night, more than a few Kansas Citians are likely to have vocal trauma and maybe a hoarse voice this week.

The vocal cords are bands of connective tissue that run across the trachea (“windpipe”) and vibrate when air is forcefully exhaled past them. Vocal pitch is controlled by contractions of tiny muscles attached to the ends of the vocal cords which tighten and flatten the vocal cords. When you scream or yell as loudly as you can and/or for an extended period of time, the vocal cords are exposed to a large amount of vibration, which can cause friction and irritation, leading to inflammation, swelling, damage, and pain.

Photo from KCTV5

Unless you’re a professional voice-user (singer, speaker, teacher, etc.), you likely don’t think much about taking care of your voice, especially when you’re supporting your local team with your friends and family. At a sporting event (or in your living room, yelling at the TV), you don’t warm-up your voice like a professional voice-user does – you leap off the couch whooping and hollering…and scaring the dog in the process. Unfortunately, sudden bursts of screaming affect the vocal cords and associated muscles in the same way that a sudden forceful contraction affects any other muscle in your body, potentially causing injury and pain.


Complicating the potential vocal problems faced at a sporting event is the Lombard effect – the technical term for our natural tendency to continue to increase our vocal volume (even while speaking) when we’re in a noisy environment (like Guinness Record holding Arrowhead or a rockin’ Kauffman Stadium during the playoffs). When we shout to be heard above the ambient noises, we strain our voices and cause damage to our vocal cords.

Treatment

Photo from Fox Sports

If you’ve got a sore, scratchy throat after the last two sports nights in Kansas City, you can help your voice feel better by resting it. Avoid talking as much as you can (for at least 1-2 days after straining your voice) and when you must talk, speak with a low volume – don’t whisper! Whispering actually puts more strain on your vocal cords than speaking with a low volume. You also need to avoid clearing your throat or coughing, as each of these activities is extremely traumatic for the vocal cords.

An Ounce of Prevention...

After your voice recovers from these past few exciting sports nights, take these steps to help you protect your voice in the future (like for the Kansas Speedway races this weekend or for Game 3 of the ALDS when the Royals host the Angels):

1. Stay hydrated throughout the day. Vocal cords need moisture to avoid becoming hoarse. If the lining covering the vocal cords becomes dry, damage-causing friction occurs more frequently and leads to irritation and swelling.
2. Avoid foods and drinks that can cause acid reflux. Stomach acid can irritate and inflame the mucosal lining of your esophagus, throat, and mouth (and destroy the enamel on your teeth), but it also irritates the lining of your vocal cords. When this lining becomes inflamed, vocal usage damages the vocal cords, leading to permanent damage, in some cases.
3. Avoid cold, dry environments. This can be difficult to do when you’re at an outdoor football game in November in Kansas City, but periodically take breaks from the cold, dry air whenever you can to help protect your vocal health. As the weather changes and the air becomes drier and colder, start using a humidifier in your house, especially when you sleep (just make sure you don’t turn your room into a sauna, since that can foster mold growth!).
4. Avoid inhaled irritants like cigarette/cigar smoke and air pollution. These irritants dry out the vocal cords and place them at an increased risk of damage. Even “social smokers” are at a higher risk than non-smokers.
5. Gradually ramp-up the volume and intensity of your cheering. Instead of jumping right in and screaming at the top of your lungs the first time the Royals score, try cheering at a more reasonable volume. Also keep in mind that yelling words causes more strain on your vocal cords than simply making noise does.
6. Cheer within your vocal range. If you naturally have a very deep voice, trying to yell at a relatively high pitch will place more strain on your voice (and cause more and longer-lasting damage) than cheering at a pitch closer to your speaking voice.
7. Rest your voice when you need to! Yes, it is hard to watch the Chiefs get a pick-6 and not whoop and holler as loudly as you can, but your voice will thank you tomorrow if you choose to express your elation in non-verbal forms like clapping, jumping, and waving your arms around like a crazy person. If your voice is starting to get hoarse or squeak or break, stop cheering, screaming, and yelling (this includes shouting to talk with your friends at the game).

Photo from KC Star/KansasCity.com

When to See a Physician

If your vocal hoarseness or pain continues after a few days of full vocal rest, see an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. Occasionally, small nodules can develop on the vocal cords or blood vessels can burst and form blood blisters. Each of these conditions take longer to heal than a few days of rest, and they may require vocal therapy and retraining and/or surgery.