How to protect your voice – teachers and hoarseness

Our voice is a major tool of communication, and a voice disability – impacting vocal quality and features such as loudness and tone, can lead to communication difficulties, discomfort and even pain.

Hoarseness, a common phenomenon that affects people of all ages, is characterized by diminished vocal quality, with the voice sounding rough and lower in pitch. Hoarseness can be caused by a range of medical conditions, such as: viral infections, benign tumors on the vocal cords (cysts, papillomas, polyps), cancer, traumatic injuries, or vocal cord paralysis resulting from surgery. Other factors that may impair vocal quality – such as smoking, air pollution, and vocal misuse – are controllable, and can be modified to reduce or even prevent hoarseness.

Vocal misuse

Various vocal behaviors can damage the vocal cords, resulting in either temporary or permanent changes in voice functionality and quality. For example:

• Excessive vocal effort
• Excess tension in neck muscles
• Insufficient respiratory support
• Lack of synchronization between breathing and speaking
• Wrong tone when speaking

Hoarseness is especially common among people who use their voice in their professions, including teachers. In fact, some countries recognize hoarseness as an occupational disease for teachers and others whose work requires constant voice use.  Teachers often experience vocal overuse – a risk factor for voice disorders. The very nature and environment of their work expose their voice to special challenges:  Teachers are required to talk a great deal for long periods of time, sometimes for several lessons in a row; and they must speak loudly in order to be heard all over the classroom – which is often noisy and has no acoustic adaptations. In addition, teachers don’t always seek treatment when hoarseness first appears, and continue to overuse their voice, incurring further damage.

How to protect your voice

When the voice is used as an occupational tool a reciprocity is created between the voice mechanism and the environment in which it is used. Therefore, to reduce teachers’ vocal overuse, educational institutions should introduce certain adaptations. For example, once learning spaces are acoustically adapted, and the number of students in the classroom is reduced, teachers won’t have to speak so loudly. Other helpful tools include a personal voice amplifier, visual aids and online learning.

In addition, it is advisable to instruct teachers on vocal hygiene and good talking habits that will protect their voice and prevent or reduce hoarseness. Here are some simple, easy-to apply dos and don’ts:  Don’t raise your voice; Avoid talking in noisy places; Drink a lot;  Don’t talk or sing when you are hoarse or ill; Get enough  sleep; Don’t clear your throat too often; Don’t talk during physical exercise; and avoid whispering – because this also strains your vocal cords.

Treating hoarseness

If hoarseness continues for more than three weeks, it should be diagnosed by an ENT specialist. Based on test results, treatment will be recommended: surgery or speech therapy.

The speech therapist begins by getting to know the patient, and identifying his/her vocal habits and features. A personal therapy program is then established, to eliminate harmful habits and introduce proper voice use, with a focus on breathing, voice production and using resonant cavities in the body.

The information presented in this article is general. It does not constitute medical advice or replace consultation with a physician. It should not be regarded as a recommendation or alternative for medical treatment.

The information presented in the English website is partial. For full info please visit our Hebrew website

(image is for demonstration purposes unsplash)