How can I protect my vocal cords?

To protect the vocal cords, it is important to take regular vocal rests, avoid excessive voice use, use correct vocal techniques, acquire adequate rest habits, and avoid harmful habits such as smoking.

What are the factors that cause persistent hoarseness?

Causes of hoarseness may include overuse of the voice, poor vocal habits, vocal abuse, stress, infections, and other factors that damage the vocal cords.

Why are voice disorders more common among professional voice users?

Prolonged, intensive use of the voice—often with improper technique—can cause damage to the vocal cords. In addition, because professional voice users usually have limited opportunities to rest their voices, minor issues can worsen over time and develop into more serious problems.

When should voice disorder complaints be taken seriously?

If hoarseness lasts longer than two weeks, or if there is pain or strain while speaking, progressive weakening of the voice, or complete voice loss, a specialist ENT (ear, nose, and throat) physician should be consulted without delay.

What is the first step in preventing voice disorders?

The first step in preventing voice disorders is awareness. Understanding how valuable the voice is and acting consciously to protect it forms the foundation of career security for professional voice users.

Problems of Professional Voice Users

The word “professional”, which is used very often in everyday life, but often in the wrong sense, has two meanings;

Professional in terms of profession: A person who does his/her job not as an amateur for a reason such as hobby, entertainment or gaining prestige in the social environment, but for the purpose of earning a living, earning a good wage and not losing his/her job is called a “professional”.
Professional in terms of Qualification: Whether it provides a profit or not, people who do their work at the best level and at an exemplary level are called “professionals”.

Voice and theatre artists, actors, politicians, teachers, lecturers, teachers, instructors, trainers, coaches, call centre employees, announcers, counter staff, salespeople, clergy, lawyers and many other occupational groups who perform their profession with their voice or whose most important instrument is the voice while performing their profession are considered professional voice users. While some of these groups are considered to be professionals because they earn wages from their work, some of them are people who can do their profession because they are professional in terms of quality and earn a profit in return.

What are Voice Disorders (Dysphonia) in Professional Voice Users?

The irregular output of the voice due to problems in the vocal cords in the throat area, the voice box and the larynx area that contains them is called Voice Disorder (Dysphonia). Sound is an energy. When the vocal cords vibrate, they gain energy and create sound. Therefore, the use of voice is directly related to the vocal cords. Improperly used voice causes tissue deterioration in the vocal cords such as nodules, polyps, cysts, cancer or paralysis, and as a result of these organic deterioration, voice disorder occurs.

Although some of the voice disorders seen in professional voice users are caused by environmental factors or some organic diseases, it is known that they are mostly caused by long-term, incorrect intonation and forced use of the voice. Long-term and intensive use of the voice alone leads to voice disorders, as well as improper use and straining of the voice causes this disorder to increase and cause serious problems.

Although the voice disorders encountered by people who use their voices normally and professional voice users are generally similar or the same, the likelihood of the problem occurring in professional voice users and the negative effects on the profession are higher. Just as athletes experience more injuries or injuries to the muscles, organs and tissues they use and strain than non-athletes, it is just as natural for professional voice users to experience voice disorders. However, while voice disorders such as hoarseness, voice bifurcation, speaking with a thin voice in a person working in a job where the voice is not effective, often do not even attract the attention of the people around them and do not prevent them from doing their job, they are noticed more quickly in professional voice users and prevent them from doing their profession as they progress. In addition, since professional voice users have limited opportunities to rest their voices compared to other people, the problem, which initially seems small, gradually grows and becomes a serious health problem.

People with voice disorders usually have a hoarse, rough, strained, trembling, hoarse, low or high voice, breathing with the voice (airy voice), an abnormal pitch, loss of voice or a weak voice. They also exert more effort when speaking. Fatigue is felt with prolonged use of the voice. Different sound quality is experienced at different times of the day. Breathing speeds up. The need for coughing and throat clearing increases. Sore throat is experienced. Symptoms and complaints may occur alone or in combination.

What are the Preventive Measures for Voice Disorders (Dysphonia) in Professional Voice Users?

In fact, people who are professionals in terms of profession have job security and earn better if they are also professionals in terms of quality. Professionalism in terms of quality in professional voice users means not only doing their job well, but also being sensitive and conscious about protecting and using the voices they use to do that job. Therefore, the first step in preventing voice disorders is awareness. Unfortunately, the vast majority of professional voice users do not receive any training on how to use their voices, which they use most intensively throughout their lives, correctly, and as a result, they use their voices incorrectly and with difficulty, and they do not grasp the seriousness of the issue until a voice problem occurs and reaches an advanced level and prevents them from doing their job.