0762 – How Hormones Affect Your Voice

2023.02.01 – 0762 – How Hormones Affect Your Voice

Hormones - We know how boys’ voices change as they go through puberty, but so do girls’. Testosterone and oestrogen not only affect the voice directly in the vocal folds, changing their shape and so the sounds they make, but also indirectly as the overall body shape changes. Muscles and ligaments develop which can lead to increased lung capacity and other alterations affecting breathing and resonance.

For women this is not a one-off hormone flow: menstrual cycles will affect the voice directly in the larynx. During Days 24-28, a woman’s vocal folds may increase in size by around 30%. This can lead to a change in the sound of their voice (a lower range), and also to vocal fatigue and a loss of power.

Menopause can cause a drop in a female voice (while older age can make a male voice rise in pitch). Pregnancy can also affect the voice. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.