So it's been extremely cold this past month and week. Sometimes, I'm finding myself shivering in this polar vortex and other times I realize how I may start to lose my voice. This has happened to me a few years back in high school and it was one of the worst phases in my life. Your life just cannot function without your voice because active communication is required every day! When you start losing your voice, you feel a shallow tinge of despair and discomfort because you are unable to express your thoughts and opinions openly.
Honestly, I feel like I lost a part of myself who is always friendly and interacting with people regularly. In other words, losing your voice is like suffering from an illness which snatches your ability to communicate effectively in order to further achieve something. For instance, most of my classes require us to participate and it is worth a huge chunk of our grade. When your voice is cracked or even lost, your chance to shine and earn those golden participation points goes down the drain as well. Unfortunately, some things are beyond human control and so is your larynx (voice box).
On the other hand, public figures such as actors, singers, news reporters, etc. constantly need to communicate in various vocal ranges. It is their profession and most importantly their way of life. Imagine them having to experience such a horrid discomfort before or in the middle of their show? It's far more painful for them to lose their voice because they need to speak and articulate their thoughts regularly. As a matter of fact, they would have to minimize the use of their voice in order to properly heal their vocal cords. Which to them isn't as easy as it sounds.
However, it is imperative that we always take precautions before and after such a situation arises. The best methods to heal your vocal cords would be to limit straining your voice too much unless it is absolutely mandatory for you to do so. Also, drinking green tea or any type of warm drinks should speed up the recovery process as well. I find my voice coming back when I drink green tea and when I refrain from talking loudly. But as we all know the road to recovery isn't always the shortest, so remember that patience is indeed a virtue.
Hence, losing your voice is a psychologically unpleasant situation to be in and it is not always easy to cope with it. I always try the effective treatments earlier even when I start noticing some teeny-weeny symptoms associated with laryngitis. Prevention is better than care and becoming more alert now during the winter months will actually reduce the chances of losing your voice!
The views expressed in this article are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
