Voice Therapy

Guided vocal exercises improve breathing, reduce throat strain, and help identify your optimal volume for strong, healthy speaking.

If appropriate, you may receive targeted manual therapy to reduce pain and muscle tension affecting your voice, which is performed by a speech pathologist trained in these techniques. Patients often experience dramatic relief of throat strain and discomfort. You may also learn stretches and self-massage techniques for daily use to reduce strain and support relaxed, healthy voice use.

Your speech pathologist will offer guidance on strategies that support the health and function of your voice, such as improving hydration, reducing misuse or overuse of your voice, avoiding throat clearing and coughing, as well as coordinating with your laryngologist to manage allergies, asthma, acid reflux, or other medical conditions that can affect your voice.

While voice rest is not the first line of treatment for most voice problems, it is beneficial in certain situations, such as acute laryngitis, after voice surgery, or in the case of vocal cord hemorrhage or bleeding. There are times when voice rest is recommended to give the vocal cords a break so they can heal from injury. Your laryngologist may recommend a period of complete voice rest, usually about one week. During this time, you can communicate by writing, sending emails or texts, or using a text-to-speech app on your smartphone.

Vocal pacing refers to how much, how intensely, and in what situations you are using your voice. Some people may need to increase voice use to optimize vocal conditioning, while others may experience a worsening of hoarseness with voice use. Finding a balance between voice use and voice rest every day is important if you have a voice problem that worsens with overuse. This may mean not talking or singing for small amounts of time (10 to 15 minutes) at intervals throughout the day to allow your vocal cords to recover from vibration. If your profession requires you to use your voice a lot, it's also important to take longer periods of voice rest outside of work. Without these voice breaks, your vocal cords may be injured more quickly and heal slowly. Vocal pacing is challenging but sometimes necessary, and your speech pathologist will work with you to develop strategies for success.

We work with singers of all levels, from those who sing for enjoyment to high-level performers who need immediate vocal health services. Singing voice therapy involves the practice of high-intensity vocal exercises designed to help you improve your vocal range, endurance, and voice quality. Our goal is to return you to your highest level of vocal performance, allowing you to continue singing and helping you avoid recurrence of the voice problem.