2023.05.30 – 0880 – Vomiting And The Voice Vomiting We’ve mentioned this a few times in terms of acid reflux and alcohol consumption. Let’s take a second to look at it a little more closely. (Ugh!) Vomiting is extremely damaging to the voice and it’s not surprising, as the stomach contents flows ‘the wrong way’ into the pharynx and larynx and potentially into and out of your mouth (‘reflux’ means ‘regurgitation’ or ‘backwards flow’). With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (or GERD) the stomach con...
May 29, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 880
2023.05.29 – 0879 – HPV And The Voice HPV The Human Papilloma Virus can be sexually transmitted but can also be shared in other ways not fully understood. It causes many different diseases, often in the cervix and also in the throat sometimes leading to head and neck cancer and sometimes ‘recurrent respiratory papillomatosis’ which causes warty growths in the throat, most commonly on the vocal folds themselves, resulting in: Hoarseness Vocal fatigue Loss of vocal range Difficulty breathing Hoste...
May 28, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 879
2023.05.28 – 0878 – Alcohol And The Voice Alcohol It’s unlikely you’ll be having a drink just before a broadcast show, podcast recording or studio session, but what might be the damage to your voice if you’ve had one (or several!) the night before, or for serval nights before? Alcohol can: · Contribute to dehydration of your whole body – and drier vocal folds don’t vibrate properly, contracting your range and making you sound strained. I mean, you know this already right, because after a ‘sessio...
May 27, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 878
2023.05.27 – 0877 – Steroids And The Voice Steroids These might be used to reduce swelling in the body, in our case, the vocal folds, perhaps caused through misuse, which may then return to a more natural size and vibrate more efficiently and so make you sound like your real self. They should of course only be taken under professional medical supervision for a one-off reason. Habitual use can result in a worsening or permanent vocal injury, (as well as other issues such as mood changes, sleeples...
May 26, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 877
2023.05.26 – 0876 – Vaping And The Voice Vaping This trend is too young for there to be hard and fast stats on how it may affect the larynx and voice, and that’s probably good enough reason in itself to be wary of taking up the habit. Personally, I’d not want a cocktail of vegetable glycerine, poly-ethylene glycol, nicotine, and flavourings, pyrazine additives, aldehydes (formaldehyde and acet-aldehyde), and trace metals (nickel, chromium, cadmium and tin), in my lungs… And of course, to get the...
May 25, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 876
2023.05.25 – 0875 – Cocaine And The Voice Cocaine While smoked cocaine will have a similar effect to smoking marijuana, snorted cocaine will damage your nose and nasal septum (‘nasal deformity’) and so affect the nasal resonance of your voice. As well as that think of this (it’s a bit gross). You know when you have a cold and sniff and then are able to swallow the phlegm? Something similar happens with cocaine that’s not been absorbed in the nose: it drips down the back of the throat and down to...
May 24, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 875
2023.05.24 – 0874 – Marijuana And The Voice While soft and hard drugs use is quite common in society, it’s even more prevalent in the entertainment business. It could be because of the amount of money some of the stars earn, the relaxing effects of some of the drugs or the social aspects. So how do both these drugs affect your voice? Marijuana When it is inhaled the vapours of marijuana inevitably affect your mouth, throat and lungs. This commonly results in laryngitis: a tired, rough, raspy, or...
May 23, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 874
2023.05.23 – 0873 – More Cures For Summer Allergies · Antihistamine or steroid nasal spray or antihistamine pills – although they can have a drying effect · Something to suck on – lozenges and pastilles can promote the production of saliva which, when swallowed will help calm the urge to cough on a scratchy throat. Sweets with natural sweeteners and no artificial nonsense are obviously better than those crammed with chemicals and engorged with E-numbers. Beware natural flavours like menthol whic...
May 22, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 873
2023.05.22 – 0872 – Cures For Summer Allergies Trouble is, you have to balance drying out the mucous and not over drying the folds [1] : · Hydration - the mucous will be less thick, and the drying from antihistamine meds, less pronounced, if you drink more! · Steaming – a plain-water steamer (no unnecessary synthetic oils or perfumes which can be an added irritant) can do wonders to hydrate the folds directly. · Nebulising – a nebulizer turns saline water into a finer mist, which you breath in, ...
May 21, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 872
2023.05.21 – 0871 – Your Pitch and Post Nasal Drips We already know about the ‘post-nasal drip’, a lovely term that refers to the secretions from your nose and sinuses which can drip into the back of your mouth and down your throat (think what you do when you have a cold…). With seasonal allergies such drip-drip sinus drainage (especially at night) leads to the vocal folds swelling, which can cause · A lower pitch - and so a change in your range · Less resonance – because some of your nasal reso...
May 20, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 871
2023.05.20 – 0870 – Pollens and Blossoms: Summer Allergies and Your Voice We all love the lazy, hazy crazy days of summer, right? Well not if you have a seasonal allergy, and by ‘seasonal’ I mean anything from early spring to late summer, with various pollens having an effect on breathing and sneezing, and therefore your voice as well. Allergies (pollen, as well as dog and cat hair, dust, synthetic chemical smells…) are really your reaction to your body almost working too well ! These foreign pa...
May 19, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 870
2023.05.19 – 0869 – Your Voice in Winter - 4 8. Let Your Mic Do The Work If you’re on stage in a show, MCing an event, turning on Christmas lights, remember the difference between volume and energy (loads on this from episode 323). You have a mic for a reason, to make yourself louder, so there’s no need to shout into it and hurt your voice. If you do, you start a spiral effect: the sound team will simply turn down the level on your channel so your voice doesn’t distort over the loudspeakers, and...
May 18, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 869
2023.05.18 – 0868 – Your Voice in Winter - 3 6. Prep and Pacing Packed public transportation as people rush to prep, humans hurrying from one side of the city/county/planet to the other for the holidays, re-cycled aeroplane air, closed windows on buses and trains, big parties in small rooms, plus throw in mixed age groups, holiday hugs and mistletoe kisses and plates of food being passed around … frankly it’s a surprise we are all still here! It could all be an assault on your general, physical ...
May 17, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 868
2023.05.17 – 0867 – Your Voice in Winter - 2 4. Be Careful of Rich Food and Reflux Party and holiday food can be rich and creamy (think chocolates, fried or spicy finger food, plus carbonated soft or alcoholic drinks) which can lead to potential gastric or reflux issues (that we’ve looked at elsewhere, episode 755), so be careful how much you eat and when. And not too much and not too late! Have a range of food sure, but balance the chocolate orange with an actual one, you get the idea. Keep hyd...
May 16, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 867
2023.05.16 – 0866 – Your Voice in Winter - 1 Winter can be a challenging time for your voice. To quote the song, “ the weather outside is frightful ” with cold air, there’s warm dry heated air inside, and if the season coincides with Christmas and New Year (depending on your hemisphere [1] ) there’s bugs picked up from socialising and travelling, holiday performances such as concerts and carols. So here are some health tips to follow for the winter months – over and above the usual ones that we’...
May 15, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 866
2023.05.15 – 0865 – Coping With Covid Coping with long covid A small percentage of people who have had Covid-19 continue to have symptoms after 12 weeks, but because of the huge number of people who have had the disease, that’s a large actual number of people. This is known by health professionals in the UK and many other countries as ‘post covid syndrome’ or (by the WHO) ‘post covid condition’ (although some doctors still doubt the existence of this altogether). There is no specific treatment t...
May 14, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 865
2023.05.14 – 0864 – Don’t Forget Your Ears Ears You need to know what you sound like so you can adjust your voice or your mic, and make some sometimes subtle changes in pitch or timbre. You may be asked to imitate a certain style of voice or personality, so attuned ears will help you hear, interpret and reproduce the subtleties. And of course, you need to clearly hear instructions from a director or producer, either through a talkback speaker or an earpiece. It is possible to act without full he...
May 13, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 864
2023.05.13 – 0863 – Eye Exercises And a few exercises: Pencil Push-Ups Hold a pencil at arm’s length and focus on the tip. Move it closer and continue to focus. Repeat, moving it back and forth forcing your eyes to work-out. The Figure of Eight Pick an imaginary point on the floor or across the room, about 10 feet away. Focus on it and with your pupils moving, draw a figure of eight in the space there, for about 30 seconds before switching direction. 20/20 For every 20 minutes of near work, look...
May 12, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 863
2023.05.12 – 0862 – Don’t Forget Your Eyes Your eyes and ears Most voice trainers overlook these critical body parts and the role they play in helping you get a better voice, but let’s spend a few moments doing just that here and now with a few considerations. Eyes Without stating the obvious, and with acknowledgement to the awesome voice actors who are blind and read their scripts with braille [1] , eyes help you do your job. Not just clearly reading the words that you have to say, but also the...
May 11, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 862
2023.05.11 – 0861 – Feeling Attractive vs. Sounding Unobstructed Even though Connie was a radio presenter, she always came in immaculately dressed. Fitted suits, or tight jeans or blouses that left little to the imagination. The problem was that Connie couldn’t get to the end of even a moderately long sentence without having to take another breath. The problem seemed obvious: the clothes were making breath intake, support and control all difficult. But Connie knew that how she dressed made her l...
May 10, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 861
2023.05.10 – 0860 – Tight Clothes, Tight Voice What else will affect your vocal performance? Clothes What won’t help, anything that causes constriction or discomfort Tight dresses, trousers, blouses and shirts. Belts done up a notch or two more than absolutely necessary Tight shoes worn more for style than comfort. That could be footwear that pinches your toes or heel, the height or slope of a heel, or simply wearing a style that you are not used to (for example, the heeled shoes that are super-...
May 09, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 860
2023.05.09 – 0859 – Myth 5: Dark-coloured Pee Means You Are Dehydrated Myth #5: Dark-coloured pee means you're dehydrated Pee is dark because of the concentration of various elements in it, but that doesn’t of itself mean you need more water. It’s actually more accurate to look at the concentration of sodium in your blood, but as that’s not usually practical, some experts [1] say drinking enough water to keep your urine a light, straw-yellow colour is a simple and effective monitoring system. [1...
May 08, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 859
2023.05.08 – 0858 – Myth 4: Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight Myth #4: Drinking water can help you lose weight OK, maybe if you drink a few glasses before a meal, you’ll eat less [1] but that’s not the case for everyone [2] , although obviously if water is replacing a sugar-rich fizzy drink then sure, you’ll be taking in fewer calories. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25893719/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17228036/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 07, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 858
2023.05.07 – 0857 – Myth 3: We Need ‘Sports Drinks’ Myth #3: We need sports drinks to replace salt and other electrolytes There’s usually no need to reach for the expensive coloured water after a work-out as you can usually replace lost salt by consuming more basic and cheaper, although not as trendy, food and drink. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 06, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 857
2023.05.06 – 0856 – Myth 2: Caffeine Makes You Dehydrated Myth #2: Caffeine makes you dehydrated The effect is almost miniscule and the 1928 research the claim is based on [1] doesn’t hold up to todays’ more rigorous research. NPR says “ Essentially, with the exception of higher alcohol-content beverages like hard liquor, all liquids count towards hydration. As does food. The experts we spoke to say about 20% of your fluid intake comes from the food you eat, from fruits and vegetables to pasta.”...
May 05, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 856
2023.05.05 – 0855 – Myth 1: You Need To Drink at Least Eight Glasses of Water a Day H2O No-Nos – Busting 5 Myths About Water and Hydration [1] Myth 1: You need to drink at least eight glasses of water a day Nope: After all, how big are the glasses, how big are you? Have you done any exercise or need more water, or eaten a ton of watermelon and need less? How hot are you? Like the porridge in Goldilocks that had to be not too hot and not too cold, we each need enough to avoid dehydration and not ...
May 04, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 855
2023.05.04 – 0854 – The Food And Drink Good List The ‘good’ list Have these in moderation; you don’t want to feel full and bloated during a four-hour radio show. Neither do you want to feel nauseous, or feel the need for a toilet break, or suffer from either form of gas in a small studio. Eat enough of the right foods to keep your energy levels up – preferring fresh over anything processed. Fruit – in general fruits are good as they contain lots of water – especially ones such as mangoes, melons...
May 03, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 854
2023.05.03 – 0853 – The Food And Drink Naughty List The ‘bad’ list Dairy - Milk, yoghurt, cheese can all be difficult for the body to break down and so cause acid reflux which can ‘burn’ your vocal folds. It can also thicken mucus, causing you to clear your throat more often and reducing the manoeuvrability of your tongue. Processed sugar - Boiled and chewy sweets and juice drinks can be heavily processed causing phlegm in some people. And after an initial sugar rush, comes the sugar crash affec...
May 02, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 853
2023.05.02 – 0852 – The Food And Drink That Can Damage Your Voice EATING AND DRINKING It’s not so much what you should eat as what you should not , because, apart from foods which add to your water intake, there are few which actively help your voice. Most foods either hurt it, or make little or no difference either way. If these ‘bad’ items affect you at all, it will be likely be to a different extent to other people – we are all different. It may need a diary and detective work to find out wha...
May 01, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 852
2023.05.01 – 0851 – Your ‘Goldilocks’ Vocal Folds ‘Breathy (or ‘aspirated’) onset’ – when they don’t close enough This happens when there is a lack of firm closure of the vocal folds, so excessive air escapes through them as you create sound and the resulting voice is ‘breathy’. ‘Glottal’ onset – the folds are brought together before air pressure is increased, and are ‘blown apart’ to start phonation The vocal folds are over compressed and brought together with force to initiate sound. The air p...
Apr 30, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 851
