Heather Gross, M.S., CCC-SLP
Your voice matters for everyday communication, connection, and expression, not to mention many types of jobs as well. That’s why it's important to learn how to take care of your voice, prevent voice problems, and get the right voice treatment if you need it.
Key takeaways
An estimated 7.6% of U.S. adults have a problem with their voice. Voice issues can affect your work, relationships, and participation in everyday life.
Vocal hygiene refers to healthy habits that help you take care of your vocal cords.
Tips to take care of your voice include staying hydrated, treating dry mouth or throat, managing allergies or acid reflux, and avoiding toxins like smoke.
Other vocal hygiene tips include limiting speaking in noisy places, making time for vocal rest, and learning to speak with lower vocal effort.
If you notice changes in your voice that last longer than two weeks, contact your doctor. Some symptoms of voice disorders include throat pain or tightness, running out of air while speaking, a strained or hoarse voice, or periods of voice loss.
A speech therapist can teach you vocal exercises to heal your voice, show you how to speak with less vocal effort, and recommend a vocal hygiene routine that fits your needs.
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Get startedIt's important to prevent voice problems
Have you ever lost your voice, maybe from a case of laryngitis or after talking for too long? If so, how did it impact your everyday life and your ability to communicate? "People rarely think about their voice unless something goes wrong, but it's an essential part of how we express ourselves and interact with others," says Alexis Irazoque, M.S., L/SLP, a licensed speech-language pathologist with Expressable.
It helps to understand how the voice works. Your voice is located at the top of your neck, in front of the spinal cord. Your vocal cords, also called vocal folds, are within your larynx, or your “voice box.” The vocal folds remain open when we inhale to allow us to breathe. They close to produce voice and to protect the airway during swallowing.
It's important to prevent voice disorders and educate people about their vocal health, also known as vocal habilitation. Many jobs require their employees to speak for long periods, with little to no time for vocal rest and recovery. Some employees have to speak over loud, noisy environments, without proper ways to amplify their voices. These are occupational health hazards, and they’re just a few reasons that vocal health is a public health concern.
In fact, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), an estimated 17.9 million U.S. adults ages 18 or older, or 7.6%, report having had a problem with their voice.
The good news is that you can learn to protect your vocal health. There are steps you can take to prevent vocal injury and ensure a healthy voice for a lifetime.
Vocal cord damage and vocal cord dysfunction can cause hoarseness and strain. Learn symptoms, causes, and how to heal your vocal cords.
Tips for better vocal health and hygiene
Vocal hygiene refers to healthy habits that help you take care of your vocal cords. Here are some ways you can take good care of your voice:
Stay hydrated. Hydration keeps your vocal folds working correctly. It helps lubricate and protect your vocal fold tissues. Be sure to drink plenty of healthy fluids like water throughout the day.
Treat dry mouth or dry throat. If you have a dry mouth or dry throat, try using a humidifier or steamer. Drink more water, and decrease your use of antihistamines and mint. Check any medications you take for possible drying effects. Another tip is to practice breathing through your nose, rather than through your mouth. VocalMist, slippery elm, and fennel can also help with dry mouth. If your dry mouth is severe, or does not go away with these simple changes, talk with your doctor to help determine what's causing it.
Be aware of your breathing. "The breath is to the voice as gas is to a car," Irazoque says. "The breath turns the voice on!" Be sure to take replenishing breaths as you speak. Try to avoid speaking on “empty air” at the very end of your breath. Improving your posture can also help improve the ease of your breath.
In addition, try to breathe in through the nose rather than the mouth. Breathing in through the nasal passages cleans and moistens the air before it reaches your vocal cords.
At least 10 minutes of vocal rest per one hour of speaking or voice use is recommended.
Avoid speaking in noisy environments. Instead, try using nonverbal forms of communication, such as hand gestures or facial expressions. Or use proper amplification, such as a microphone to increase the volume of your voice.
Take care during video calls. Be mindful of your speaking volume when you're on video calls. If you find yourself raising your voice, try adjusting your microphone or speaker settings instead. Consider using a high-quality headset with a good microphone, which reduces the need to speak loudly and minimizes strain on your voice.
Take time to rest. Include vocal rest in your daily routine. Vocal rest means not using your voice at all. At least 10 minutes of vocal rest per one hour of speaking or voice use is recommended.
Treat allergies or reflux disease. If you clear your throat often or have a chronic cough, these could be signs of allergies or reflux disease. See your doctor to get to the root cause. If you have acid reflux, try these dietary and lifestyle changes to see if your voice quality improves!
Practice speaking with less vocal effort. This could mean lowering the volume of your voice, or trying not to “push” your voice out but rather speaking with ease.
Try to avoid exposure to allergens, toxins, or smoke. "Remember, anything you inhale touches your vocal cords," Irazoque notes.
Take care of your whole mind and body. If you’re dealing with chronic stress, you could be holding tension in your body. This tension can carry over to your neck and throat muscles. And when you’re feeling tired, your voice feels fatigued, too. This might lead you to “push” your voice out with increased vocal effort.
Develop an exercise routine, even a simple daily walk. Get plenty of rest. Eat hydrating fruits and vegetables and a diet rich in antioxidants and whole foods. And look for other ways to reduce your stress.
Prepare before speaking or singing for a long amount of time. If you know you’re going to be speaking or singing for awhile, it may be useful to complete a vocal warm-up and cool-down before and after the vocal activity. You can explore vocal exercises with lip trills, tongue trills, or humming with pitch glides. Straw phonation is a great exercise for preventing and combating vocal fatigue.
What are symptoms of voice problems?
If you notice any changes in the sound or feeling of your voice, you may want to seek care from an otolaryngologist, also known as an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor. The doctor can help you determine what’s causing the voice problem.
Some common symptoms that may point to a voice disorder include:
Pain or tightness in the throat
Running out of air while speaking
A strained, hoarse, or tired-sounding voice
Difficulty projecting your voice
Reduced vocal range
Periods of vocal aphonia (times when you can’t speak at all)
"If you have any of these symptoms and they don’t get better after two weeks, it’s important to seek a diagnosis," Irazoque says.
What causes a hoarse voice, and how can you cure it? Learn when voice therapy is needed to treat hoarseness and how it works.
How speech therapy can help voice problems
A voice therapist can help you:
Learn voice therapy exercises to practice throughout the day, which will soothe and heal your voice
Learn a new way of speaking that is more vocally efficient (allows you to speak for longer durations of time, with less vocal effort)
Establish a vocal hygiene routine that fits your needs and concerns
Some of the areas a voice therapist can help with include, but are not limited to:
Vocal lesions, such as nodules, polyps, and cysts
Vocal fold paralysis
Degenerative voice
Taking care of the voice is important for everyone, no matter where you work or how often you speak. However, vocal hygiene is just one part of vocal healing. A voice therapist will combine vocal health education with direct voice intervention to help you reach your goals and communicate with ease. Find the right voice therapist for your needs at Expressable.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
There are several healthy habits that help you take care of your voice. Common techniques include drinking plenty of water, treating dry mouth or dry throat, limiting speaking in noisy environments, resting your voice when needed, and avoiding exposure to smoke and allergens.
Vocal rest is helpful when your voice is affected by illness, like a cold or the flu. Limit speaking as much as possible, and avoid whispering. A good rule of thumb is 10 minutes of vocal rest per every 1 hour of speaking. However, if symptoms like hoarseness last longer than two weeks, it’s important to contact your doctor.
Yes, whispering may actually place more strain on your vocal cords than normal speaking. In order to whisper, we need to squeeze our vocal cords more tightly, which can lead to strain and irritation. If you’re trying to rest your voice, try to limit speaking completely. If you do need to speak, you can use something called "confidential voice," where you're still talking in your full voice, but at a very low volume and with very little vocal effort.
Nothing that we eat or drink touches the vocal cords, so there aren't any foods or drinks that are inherently bad for the voice. However, alcoholic drinks can be dehydrating. If you're drinking alcohol, it's best to drink an equal ratio of water to alcoholic beverage. In addition, spicy and acidic foods like citrus fruits and tomato sauces may lead to acid reflux, which can then irritate the vocal cords.
Aim to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, although this may vary depending on your activity level, climate, and how much you use your voice. You can also use a portable nebulizer to increase hydration and improve moisture on the surface of the vocal folds.
Vocal hygiene refers to healthy habits that help you take care of your voice and prevent voice problems. These habits can differ from person to person, but some examples include staying hydrated, making time for vocal rest, avoiding speaking in noisy places, and treating allergies or reflux disease.
How Expressable Can Help
Concerned your child isn't reaching age-expected milestones? Looking for communication support from a professional? Expressable is a national online speech and occupational therapy practice serving children and adults. We treat all major areas of communication, feeding, and developmental skills, offer flexible hours including evenings and weekends, and accept most major health insurance plans. We’re proud to have earned more than 4,500 5-star reviews from our clients (4.83/5 average).
Our therapy model is centered on parent and caregiver involvement. Research proves that empowering caregivers to participate in their loved one’s therapy leads to better outcomes. That’s why we combine live, 1-on-1 speech and occupational therapy with personalized education and home practice activities for faster progress.
