4 Behaviors that Hurt Your Voice

Vocal health problems like hoarseness, fatigue of the voice, pain, and vocal cord lesions are caused by vocal abuse (using the voice in a way that damages your voice and vocal health) or vocal misuse (habitual vocal strain). While it’s easiest to identify and avoid isolated instances of vocal abuse (like screaming/yelling or cheering at a sporting event or concert), it may be more important for long-term vocal health to recognize and stop the vocal misuse that happens on a regular basis.

 

1. Coughing and Clearing Your Throat

Imagine putting your arms straight out to your sides, with your hands at shoulder height and your palms facing forward. Now, imagine clapping your hands in front of you by moving your arms as quickly and forcefully as you can. That would hurt your hands, right? This is essentially what happens to your vocal cords when you cough or clear your throat.

Instead, try taking a small sip of water or swallowing to rid the throat of the secretions that typically cause coughing or throat-clearing. If you must cough or clear your throat, try to use the least amount of force, volume, and vocal vibration as possible.

2. Speaking in a Noisy Room or Atmosphere

Noisy environments lead people to fall victim to the Lombard effect. This is the technical term for the natural tendency to increase your vocal volume when you’re in a loud environment. This is a problem for vocal health because shouting to be heard above ambient noise strains the voice and causes vocal cord damage.

When you are in a noisy room, do your best to speak with your voice at a normal volume, communicate non-verbally, or speak at times when you are not in the loud environment. If you must speak in a noisy environment on a regular basis, consider using a small portable microphone to amplify your voice safely.

3. Whispering, especially when recovering from vocal trauma

Some evidence indicates that, in some people, whispering causes more vocal trauma than speaking at a normal volume. It’s thought that whispering uses more tension in the vocal cords and associated muscles, which increases the risk of traumatic injury when the vocal cords are used.

If you are resting your voice after vocal abuse, try communicating nonverbally. If you must speak while recovering from vocal trauma, speak at a low volume with your normal pitch instead of whispering.

4. Whistling (and playing a wind instrument) while recovering from vocal trauma

Whistling and playing a wind instrument both involve vocal cord activity, so avoid doing either activity while recovering from vocal abuse (like yelling at a sporting event). The best way to allow the vocal cords to heal is to rest them as much as possible – from all activity (talking, singing, whispering, whistling, and playing a wind instrument).