As the new school year is upon us, this article by Nelson Roy and Kristine Tanner is particularly timely. Public speakers, specifically teachers, are at risk for repetitive strain injuries to their voice. Just as someone who is at the computer keyboard all day might be at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, a more familiar form of repetitive strain injury.
Teachers face the challenge of long periods of voice use, often in loud, noisy environments. Daily voice care and vocal exercises , like the ones we train with in Voice therapy, can play a vital role for educators to minimize strain and maximize normal vocal physiology. After all, the voice is muscle, cartilage, joints and ligaments. It will fatigue, and can be strained just like other biomechanical systems in your body. According to this article, 11% of teachers presently have some sort of voice disorder, and 58% report history of a voice disorder. Worst of all, teachers and other public speakers rarely receive guidance on how to care for their voice, despite that it is integral to their success and livelihood.
A combination of voice therapy approaches is most beneficial to a teacher’s occupational vocal demands. Vocal hygiene strategies including ongoing hydration with water throughout the course of the day and use of amplification, such as a Chattervox (www.chatterovx.com) are best. Vocal exercises designed to warm-up, refresh, and cool down the voice daily can be provided by your speech pathologist to optimize daily vocal performance and endurance day to day.
Contact Voicetrainer, LLC for more information at info@voicetrainer.com if you are struggling with voice quality changes or fatigue related to your occupational voice demands; we can help!
