[HANASHIR:1595] Re: Vocal testing

[Elizabeth Zoller <LizzieZ...>]

Karen,
I had the same problem about 11 years ago.  Went through the exact same
tests (even had the same problem with gagging -- you're not alone!), and
had the same ultimate response:  I wasn't speaking properly.  Yep, I was
talking in the basement of my range, too.  I thought the whole problem
began when I got a strep that didn't seem to go away.  I wasn't even able
to produce a clear singing tone -- which, at the time, was a HUGE problem,
because I was musical directing a show for which I had written the songs,
and thus was the only one who knew the melodies!

It got to the point where the ENT I had seen (who fortunately specialized
in singers and, get this, traders! -- who else abuses their voice as much
as we do?) made me take complete vocal rest before continuing treatment.
That meant a week with a pen and paper -- NO talking!  (Be prepared for
this possible step.)  Of course, there were the occasional people who
thought I was deaf (like the one who made some comment to my mom about me,
and my mom tactfully let the woman know that I could, in fact, hear
perfectly!), but I also was able to answer repeat questions by flipping
back a few pages!  But I digress...

The BEST thing I ever did was go to a voice therapist at Northwestern
University who gave me loads of exercises that literally taught me to speak
differently.  I still have a relatively alto speaking voice, but it is in a
much different place in my throat.  Yes, I highly recommend this.  It
really saved my voice, and I have had no such problems like this since.
Please let us know what you decide to do, and if you've heard any other
comments from others who have done this.

Good luck!!
Liz

>Ever since Hava Nashira, after which I got hoarse for over a month, I have had
>a hard time singing for a long time without getting a little hoarse.  I
>FINALLY dragged myself to the doctor, actually, the Vanderbilt Voice Clinic.
>Have any of you actually gone through that amazingly...intrusive...test?  They
>actually stick a metal tube down your throat while you sing "eeee" in
>different notes, while smiling, and while they hold onto your tongue with a
>gauze bandage, and all this while you are wide awake.  They tried to spray my
>throat numb so I would stop gagging since I was the one person in ten who
>really has difficulty with this test, but all that happened was that I
>couldn't swallow and gagged more and more... the voice person continued
>torturing me until FINALLY after about an hour and a half of trying, she got a
>doctor to do it, and then it WORKED.  They were terribly certain that there
>would be some problem, but lo and behold, my vocal chords turned up clean as a
>whistle, and I was given a PHOTO of the lovely...view!
>
>Phew!  Then I got the same advice all of you on the list had given me: drink
>lots of water, don't use menthol stuff, and also, that my asthma inhalers can
>cause hoarseness.  Hmmmmph!  I wonder if any of you have had similar
>experiences, or if you have gone ahead with the next step, recommended by this
>clinic (which has  helped countless country music stars with their voices, by
>the way...the walls are plastered with signed photos and gold records):
>learning how to sing AND TALK properly!  I evidently speak with much too low a
>voice (for a woman).