VOICE HYGIENE, VOCAL HYGIENE

Voice organs are lungs, trachea, larynx, throat, nose, mouth, tongue, lips and teeth. Voice organs are very sensitive to environmental changes. That is why voice professionals must take good care of their voice organs. All behaviors towards protection of voice organs are called voice hygiene.

• Get enough sleep. Try to stay away from sleep deprivation and extreme stress.
• Avoid frequent and strong throat clearing and frequent and harsh coughing.
• Do not force your voice beyond its limits. Avoid loud speaking, shouting and screaming. Do not send your voice too far away; instead, walk there and talk face to face.
• Do not talk and do not sing in dry, dusty, smoky and noisy places.
• Do not talk and sing in places with dry and air-conditioned air. Humidify air as much as possible. It is very healthy to your voice to breath cold steam from steam machine.
• Do not talk or sing without microphone in crowded areas.
• Feedback speaker, that will make you hear your own voice, must be present in places where you talk or sing.
• Drink plenty of water, usually around 3 liters daily. This helps thin out mucus.
• Stop tobacco smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. This is a good idea for all smoked products.
• Avoid large amounts of caffeine, such as coffee, tea, and cola.
• Treat and prevent reflux.
• Do not drink alcohol before performance or before going to bed.
• Do not use dependence producing substances, such as cocaine, heroin or marihuana, 24 hours before performance.
• To prevent reflux, sleep with an empty stomach; elevate the head of your bed.
• Avoid foods with high fat content.
• Do not take excess amounts of vitamin C.
• Unless prescribed, do not take aspirin or other drugs that prevent clotting of blood.
• Unless otherwise indicated do not take psychotropic drugs; these drugs effect the control of your voice and may lead to dryness on vocal cords.
• Unless indicated do not take diuretics; these drugs may cause dryness on your vocal cords and furthermore they may disrupt your sleep at night by causing the need to urinate.
• If you have allergy, sinusitis, pharyngitis, otitis media, nasal obstruction and lung disorder, please have them treated. Any disease or disorder in your body will negatively affect your voice; so, you need to solve all health problems.
• Do not consume milk and milk products, ice cream, chocolate, coffee, spices, peanuts and other dried nuts during the last 24 hours before your performance.
• Take care to get enough sleep every day.
• Always do warm-up exercises before performance and cool-down exercises after performance.
• When you have hoarseness, rest your voice.
• When you have common cold, refrain from using drugs that contain antihistaminics and systemic decongestants.
• Avoid fast weight loss; lose weight in a long time.
• Do not eat before performance; it may cause reflux.
• If you have hearing loss, have it treated.
• Consult a laryngologist before using drugs that contain hormones; some hormones may cause permanent low-pitched voice.
• Birth control pills narrow dynamic range of your voice.
• Be aware of how much and how loudly you are talking.
• Use a microphone if your job requires a lot of talking (like teaching or public speaking).