Hello

I've had a cold for about a week, and yesterday, my voice gradually disappeared. Today, I try to speak and it comes out like a breath of air or a faint whisper. I've cancelled the piano lessons I was due to teach today and been drinking water and trying not to talk. My voice feels literally paralysed. I've never had this before. It's not that I've got plegm in my throat (sorry to be a bit gross), but it's like my vocal chords won't move. Strangely enough, my other cold symptoms have pretty much disappeared.

I'm also a singer, and meant to be playing a gig on Sunday, which I can get out of. I don't know whether this is likely to last a long time or just a day or two... Usually, for sore throats I drink honey, lemon and ginger, but I've read online that the acidity of lemon can damage the voice. Any tips? I remember a previous singer teacher advising me that sugar is bad for the voice. Does that apply to me now?

Please help! I'm really worried!

Have you tried yawning/sighing?

Otherwise I think it would have to be the doctor, a school teacher friend of mine had paralysed vocal chords for some reason that I don't think was ever worked out, she ended up having London consultant treatment, which she described as being strangled.

That's pretty unlikely and hopefully it should sort itself out in another day or two with some rest and probably no whispering (something in the back of my head thinks that could be a bad option, but doubtless rosfrog can provide some technical stuff for us).

I can't!

(I know what you mean though, because in the past when I've been croaky, I've done this to loosen up a bit.)

Hi Twinkle, sorry to hear about your throat.

I've had problems like that a couple of times in the past - most of me feeling fine but my voice just not functioning. And generally the voice has come back, usually in about a week or so. And while it's been gone, I've had to get on with life (including running an international finance department) using a combination of e-mails, scribbled notes, hand signals, hard stares and manic grins..... It's remarkable how much you can communicate without making a sound!

Don't try and force sound out, whether speech or song, and don't whisper. Trying to force your voice to work when it's not going to do so will prolong the problem. Rest and warm water are the order of the day.

I would say right now, make your apologies for Sunday Even if your voice is coming back by then, it's unlikely to be fit enough for you to do a gig.

Forumites who've been around a while will remember early 2006 when I very stupidly did a gig in early February while recovering from throat trouble similar to what you've described - and had no speaking voice until the very end of the month and no reliable singing voice until mid-March! Please learn from my mistake.

Take it easy, and I hope you feel better soon.

The yawning is about all I'm able/willing to suggest (laughing (or stifled laughing) might work in a broadly similar way but I'd say wait on that until the technical experts turn up).

I've just spent the last few minutes doing very little othe than yawn!

Katyjay is quite right - if you're not getting any sound other than a faint whisper, then there's a fair chance that the chords are swollen and unable to adduct correctly. Don't try to speak or sing (and definitely don't whisper).

The only cure is rest.

Teas and things don't have any effect - nothing you drink touches your vocal folds so any benefit you feel is purely psychological. The only thing that can actually topically hydrate your vocal folds is steam. A bowl, a towel and some hot water - it's efficient and what's more - it's free !

Try steaming for five minutes a couple of times a day and use lots of rest, writing notes if need be.

If it hasn't cleared up in a few days, then definitely go to see your doctor - that's the best person to advise you on this really.

Hope you feel better soon!

Thank you! I'll do that. I've cancelled another day's teaching today, so I'll rest rest rest!

By the way, why is whispering so bad for your voice?

excellent advice so far, nothing to add.

whispering is bad because the cords are highly adducted whilst blasting through air, which is very stressful. rather don't speak at all if possible, or, if that's no option, keep it as normal as you can.

Twinkle,
I see you live in Derby, well I'm Derby born and bred. Take the advice of the experts on the forum and shurrup!

There will be other gigs.

Hehe. Yes. I've been good and managed to shurrup for a couple of days! Did an hour's teaching this morning, just to try and ease my way back in. Same tomorrow. Then on Saturday I'm teaching 5 lessons, but I have at least a half hour break after each. Feels weird to be taking it easy like this! I normally cram in as many as I can! I think my bank account will also be looking poorly! Oh, well. Nice to rest...

I'm trying to work out whether my bug was swine flu. I had a horrible head cold for a few days, and then 3 days where I couldn't talk. Now I have a cough and a slightly weak voice. Has anyone else heard of loss of voice being a symptom?

I don't want to cause any worry, but my dad has something like this.

He's not a singer or anything (he's got a lovely singing voice though, deep and rich and smooth), but he had a "severe throat and lung infection" about 6 weeks ago and then lost his voice. We all assumed it would come back soon, but it didn't, and he could only whisper. Absolutely NO volume or sound at all. And he also couldn't swallow liquids properly.

It's not any better 6 weeks later, and he's no longer sick at all (hasn't been for 5 weeks), but...no voice. And he has to have thickeners in his drinks so he doesn't choke when he swallows them. They go down "the wrong way" and go into his lungs instead. The docs say his muscles aren't working for some reason.

He's been having heaps of tests, but we still don't know what causes it...I'm really stressed out by it all.