Tips from the Doc
How Thyroid Problems Impact Vocal Health: Causes and Solutions
Discover how thyroid problems can affect your voice, from low thyroid hormone levels to the impact of thyroid nodules. Learn how early detection and the right specialists can help protect your vocal health.
Reflux and the Voice
Reflux is the scapegoat for many throat symptoms. Singers, in particular, are prone to misdiagnosis when inadequate exams fail to reveal the true cause of voice symptoms. In these cases, reflux becomes the convenient diagnosis because a prescription can be offered and the patient sent on their way.
Will getting breast implants affect my voice?
When you have surgery, there is a very high likelihood you will be intubated. Intubation can cause vocal injury. In this blog post, we will discuss the 5 most common vocal injuries from intubation.
What happens when you lose your voice?
The Weeknd had to cancel a show after only three songs this past weekend, noting major issues with his voice that prevented him from singing. What can make a singer lose their voice suddenly? What happened to the Weeknd?
How can COVID affect the Voice?
Because COVID-19 is still a relatively new virus, its effects on the body, both short and long-term, have yet to be understood. There are some we have heard about consistently throughout the pandemic, including loss of taste and smell, fatigue, brain fog, and cardiovascular risks. However, there are some effects that are yet to be appreciated. Vocal effects, in particular, are underrecognized.
Annual Vocal Physical : Part 4 - The Scope & Stroboscopy Exam
As a voice user, the scope is the final part of the comprehensive vocal exam and the annual voice physical. This is the final piece to evaluating a singer, vocalist or voice professionals vocal health.
A “scope” is shorthand for endoscopy - the medical term for putting a camera into a patient to examine them.
There are many different forms of endoscopy. ENTs and laryngologists perform laryngoscopy, a scope that looks at the larynx (voice box). It’s important to recognize the two common types of laryngoscopy, as one is best suited for professional voice users.
Annual Vocal Physical: PART 3 - the General ENT exam
Even if a good history and voice evaluation are done, it is vitally important that the laryngologist do a complete ENT evaluation. This includes the components of a general ear, nose and throat exam. The complete ENT exam is a form of data acquisition. When evaluating the vocal athlete, this exam allows the examination of what impacts the voice. The third part of a thorough annual vocal physical is a general ENT, ear, nose and throat exam.
Annual Vocal Physical: PART 2 - the Voice Assessment
The voice evaluation is an equally important part of the exam of a professional voice user. By tailoring the voice exam to the patient, we are able to refine our list of diagnosis and start to narrow down to the most likely cause of voice injury.
Annual Vocal Physical: PART 1 - the History
If doctors who treat professional voice users rush through the history, they risk missing the true cause of a voice problem. They often do so because they believe the scope can provide the answer. But this results in missed diagnoses, delayed treatment, and unnecessary medications most of the time. Here at Center for Vocal Health we recognize the history is the foundation of the voice exam.
What makes Vegas Voice Use so challenging?
The Center for Vocal Health voice and laryngology practice is located a few short hours from one of the performance capitals of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. Many performers choose to make the trip to Beverly Hills to ensure their voice is in good shape or to troubleshoot issues they are having. This has helped me, as a specialized laryngologist, become more knowledgeable about the specific challenges in Las Vegas voice use.
Does Smoking Affect the Voice?
Smoking is common among singers and voice users for many reasons. Smoking tiself, not the specific drug in it, causes voice issues.
What is videostroboscopy?
Videostroboscopy is most commonly done by passing a small scope in the mouth, which is far less sensitive than the nose. This produces a brighter, high-resolution image of the vocal cords in action.
How Fires Can Affect your Voice
When wildfires take over Southern California, the team at the Center for Vocal Health sees a significantly higher incidence of voice complaints. And as wildfire season burns longer and hotter, and affects more areas, this is only expected to increase.
Edible Marijuana - Does it Affect the Voice?
Artists often ask about the effect of marijuana on the voice and we have focused on what happens when it is smoked. However, what happens to the voice when marijuana is eaten instead?
Does Vaping Hurt the Voice?
Although research is not yet conclusive regarding vaping and the effect on the voice, there is proof about the vocal effects of traditional cigarette smoking. Smoking and vaping are similar in many ways, which suggests that they may also cause vocal injury in a comparable fashion