I’m glad to find this option for asking questions about singing and vocal issues. Thanks in advance for any help.
My voice is naturally raspy but has become more hoarse lately and breaks and cracks every time I speak now, and I’ve been losing my voice a lot more frequently. I do not smoke. What can I do to fix this?
Dave Gonzalez
Hi Dave!
Welcome to the Forum! Great question!
Please go on vocal rest approximately 2 weeks, this means stop all singing and reduce speaking as much as possible. During the next two weeks, drink much, much more water than usual. Make sure you are getting plenty of good sleep at night. These things sound trivial and it’s easy to assume they won’t make any difference. But this is simply not true. You are likely dehydrated and to some extent suffering from physical exhaustion. It’s crucial that you drink a lot more water and make sure you’re getting a lot of good quality sleep at night. Both of these natural remedies will promote healing in the vocal anatomy.
If it persists beyond the next two weeks and you’ve actually stopped singing but yet the voice is still terribly raspy, horse, cracking, breaking, as you’re describing, then you really need to have an appointment with a good ear nose throat specialist physician, and ENT doctor. The doctor can examine what’s going on. This exam is not painful. It’s a little bit uncomfortable but it doesn’t last very long. And then the doctor can rule out any serious abnormality which I think is important if the symptoms are really persisting after you’ve rested thoroughly for a couple of good weeks.
You can use aloe vera gel. I would avoid the aloe vera juice, as the gel is easier on the stomach. Drink about 3 oz with meals, three times a day. Swallow it when you are eating so there’s food in your stomach at the same time. It will take down inflammation and it’s soothing in general. Another good remedy is the herb called slippery elm. This also is very soothing and lubricating to the throat. There is Throat Coat Tea, with slippery elm as the main ingredient, and there are slippery elm lozenges. Those are somewhat more challenging to locate but they do exist. There’s nothing wrong with just drinking the tea.
These are what you might call topical forms of relief. If there’s an abnormality in your vocal anatomy, this will require more attention than just topical symptomatic relief. Although these natural remedies are soothing, even if they aren’t a of complete cure.
It’s possible that even if there is an abnormality, it could be something clearly benign and small enough that you can be advised to just rest your way out of it, likely not requiring anything terribly invasive such as surgery. Just all depends, doesn’t it? This is why you need a specialist physician to examine you, assuming decondition you describe persists.
If you believe that your sinuses are involved, you might consider asking the doctor for a sinus CT scan. This is the only deep enough x-ray study to determine if you might have structural abnormalities that are actually blocking your sinuses and causing chronic sinus infection. I’m not saying you have such a thing. I’m saying that if your sinuses are a chronic problem, please tell the doctor about this in detail. Ask for a sinus CT scan. It’s painless and it won’t take very long. The worst thing that can happen is that the doctor will say he or she is sure you don’t need this. Fine. You can ask again at a later time for a sinus CT scan, if you continue to suffer with the same troubles and none of the treatment that the doctor has suggested is working.
The herbal tea called yerba mate will reduce inflammation. This tea has just a little bit of caffeine in it, similar to green tea. But if you are extremely sensitive to caffeine, then I guess it’s best not to use yerba mate tea. They have this herbal tea product available for sale on Amazon.
Personally I would not buy the canned beverages of yerba mate, because those are not going to have enough of a concentration of the herb in that canned beverage to do you any good. Those are just some kind of fun sports/energy drinks that are not meant for any medicinal purpose.
It is possible for a person to be suffering so badly from allergies that their voice can be chronically raspy and then that condition can grow worse, similar to what you’re describing. Here’s something else to lay on the doctor. Ask the doctor to help determine whether you’re suffering from allergies or perhaps if you’re suffering from sinus infections.
Perhaps one of these three articles linked below, or maybe all three of them, would be of service to you. Use the contact page and do not hesitate to be in touch if I can help! All the best to you!
