Do you have a hoarse voice and now you want to know what is the best hoarseness treatment?
If you are ready to claim your voice back, then stay tuned because in this video, I am
sharing 6 tips on how to cure a hoarse voice effectively.
Hi and welcome to the final video in the series of videos about hoarseness.
If you are seeing me for the first time, I am Katarina from How 2 Improve Singing and
here on this channel, I share tips on how to use your voice in a healthy and efficient
way.
So, if you are new here, consider subscribing to my channel and hitting that bell notification
below this video so that you get notified every time I post a new video.
So, the question is how to get rid of hoarse voice?
My answer is: it depends.
It depends on the cause of hoarseness and I talked about different causes in my previous
videos so make sure to check them out if you haven’t done so.
But let me give you 6 very concrete tips on how to treat a hoarse voice that are applicable
to any cause of hoarseness.
Tip #1 Boost Your Vocal Hygiene As soon as your voice starts sounding differently,
intensify your basic vocal hygiene routine.
It does not matter if your hoarseness is acute, chronic or recurrent, this tip should be the
first step in your treatment approach.
Take a vocal rest.
It does not mean no talking at all.
It means decreasing demands on your voice.
Less talking, less intensity, more silent periods and easy phonation.
Vocal rest together with internal and external hydration can really help you improve your
voice drastically, especially if your vocal folds are swollen.
Internal hydration is drinking plenty of fluids.
External hydration is steaming your voice and humidification of your home.
Tip #2 Seek Professional Help The most common cause of hoarseness is an
acute infection, such as common cold or flu.
You may or may not visit a doctor to help you deal with the infection.
That’s up to you.
The infection usually goes away within a week or two and the hoarse voice should resolve
too.
But if your hoarseness does not go away after two weeks, after the infection has resolved,
then it’s time to visit a specialist.
Consulting with a specialist should be the first step in chronic hoarseness treatment
or when you experience hoarseness frequently or regularly.
Visit an ENT doctor (ear-nose-throat doctor) who can look at your vocal folds and assess
their structure and function.
He will also give your very personalised instruction on how to heal a hoarse voice.
It may also be necessary to seek the help of other professionals to deal with hoarseness
due to various underlying health problems, such as acid reflux, asthma, respiratory problems,
or other chronic health issues.
Complex problems require a comprehensive approach and it may take time.
Tip #3 Try Some Home Remedies First of all, let me make clear that home
remedies play only a supportive role.
There are no magic potions that would get rid of your hoarseness really really fast.
But I like using natural approaches as much as I can because medication may not be the
best solution for your voice.
I’ll talk about that later.
So, let’s look at some research-based data to chose the best natural remedies.
Honey has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties.
It basically means that honey seems to reduce swelling, kill the microbes and prevent cell
damage, and therefore help healing of hoarseness during acute infections.
One research study found that a dose of honey was more effective than cough medicine at
suppressing coughing in people with upper respiratory infections.
Ginger also appears to have anti-inflammatory properties and lemon, which is full of vitamin
C, plays an important role in keeping your immune system healthy.
Some research also suggests that vitamin C can reduce the length of the common cold.
But use lemon juice with caution because some people may be sensitive to it.
Given the therapeutic properties of honey, ginger and lemon, my go-to drink when I get
sick is tea with honey, ginger and lemon.
I also recommend gargling with salt water, which is known to reduce swelling in the throat
and loosen mucus and get rid of unwanted microbes.
I also recommend cleaning your nasal cavities with saline nasal rinses and saline sprays.
Get rid of the mucus that can irritate your vocal folds or cause coughing.
Now, let’s talk about medication and medicated lozenges.
Tip #4 Beware of Medication and Lozenges First of all, there is no pill or lozenge
that would magically get rid of your hoarse voice.
People often reach for common over-the-counter drugs to heal hoarseness, not realizing that
they may actually put their voice at risk.
Beware of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Aspirin or Ibuprofen, which may reduce
vocal fold swelling but may have an adverse effect on voice.
If you need to take this type of drug, avoid sudden and high impact on the vocal folds,
such as prolonged and excessive voice use.
Also, beware of decongestants, which have a drying effect on your body, including the
vocal folds.
If you need to use them, increase the intake of water to make up for their drying effect.
Having said that never change or stop taking your medication without consulting your doctor.
There are many different types of lozenges, there are medicated and non-medicated lozenges.
Some of the medicated lozenges may have adverse effect on your voice, so know what lozenges
you use and why.
I made a whole video about the best lozenges for singers and voice users, so click this
link or a link under the video to watch it.
Tip #5 Eliminate Vocal Abuse Phonotrauma, which is a fancy name for vocal
abuse, misuse and overuse, is often a common cause of hoarseness.
For example, talking or singing for too long, poor vocal technique, pushing your voice to
be heard, poor breathing technique, and other examples can be a contributing factor to your
hoarseness.
Therefore, it is important to evaluate your voice use objectively and find behaviours
that may be responsible for hoarseness.
Once you know which behaviours put your voice at risk, you can start eliminating them as
well as developing healthy vocal technique.
To help you uncover such vocal behaviours that put your voice at risk, I prepared a
free checklist.
Click this link or a link below this video to download it for free.
Tip #6 Vocal Exercises for Hoarseness I am sorry but I have to disappoint you again.
There are no quick fix vocal exercises for hoarseness.
However, if there is too much constriction or tension in the larynx, you can do vocal
exercises that promote healthy talking and singing.
I recommend relaxation, stretching and vocal exercises to eliminate vocal tension; for
example, exercises to eliminate tongue, jaw or neck tension, vocal exercises that improve
resonance so that you can project your voice instead of pushing it, or breathing exercises
to improve the driving force behind your speaking or singing.
These are just a few examples and there are many more great exercises for developing healthy
vocal technique that prevents hoarseness.
So, now you know my 6 tips on how to get rid of hoarseness.
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Don’t forget to check out my other videos and I hope to see you soon!