Deanna,
Yikes,,,,,, can you say overdoer??? I'm not being sarcastic, but just reading
your post and all that you've been doing exhausted me.
I haven't followed the whole thread on your posting, so don't know the
previous history, but generally injuries are incurred by those who use their
voice (singing and speaking) too much. Excellent singing technique may
compensate for overusing your voice for awhile, but inevitably it all catches
up to you. Remember, singing or speaking you are still using the same
instrument. I sometimes think that we as teachers forget this, and assume
that since we are not "singing" all the time, our voice shouldn't be getting
tired, even though we taught for 8 hours and had to speak the entire time.
I would really encourage you to find a reputable laryngologist who
speacializes in voice........the fact that your voice sometimes gets better
and then sometimes doesn't is a real indicator that there may be more going
on than you think...
To give an example: I have a student of mine who came to me over a year ago,
after she was diagnosed with pre-nodules by her ENT. He told her that they
were only swellings, put her on vocal rest, and she'd be fine. She began with
me after the diagnosis because she wanted to make sure that she not have that
happen again. Her success in lessons was varied, some weeks her voice would
be really clear and we'd both feel like we were moving forward, other weeks
things were fuzzy and we'd really have a difficult time getting her voice to
balance out. Long story short, I stopped during a lesson and asked her some
questions about her health etc. ( same questions I had asked before, but
rephrased them). Turns out what she just thought was a slight problem with
stomach acid, for which she took Tums nightly , was a full blown case of GRD.
Concurrently, she was also diagnosed with bi-lateral polyps. After 6-8 weeks
of grd treatment and modified vocal rest, one polyp went away (it was
compensatory), but the other one didn't and she had surgery in August to
remove it. As scary as this sounds, the surgery has been absolutely
miraculous for her. 2-3 weeks post-surgery she was able to begin singing and
rehabilitation. Her voice is clear again, and she has access to all of her
voice. We are slowly rebuilding endurance and strength.
My point is that, vocal swelling can be caused by other health issues that
cause us to be vulnerable to vocal injury, irregardless of excellent
technique or not. When vocal injury occurs, surgery can be the only way to
get the voice to return to normal, and can also be nearly instantaneous and
miraculous in it's result..... as long as the pre-surgery condidtions are
addressed and treated. The surgical techniques used today on the voice,
(micro-flap), vs. the surgical technique of stripping the vocal folds in
earlier years, are excellent at retaining the flexibilty and "pliability" of
the vibrating surface of the vocal fold, often allowing for a complete and
full recovery of the voice.
I hope for you Deanna that such injury has not occurred. However, if it has,
know that it is not an end to your singing career, but the diagnosis can
mean that recovery and use of your full voice can be found and resumed in a
matter of months., instead of enduring more and more months of hide and seek
with your voice.
Best to you,
Mary Beth Felker
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