Help! My Throat Feels Strained When Talking!

Let me explain why you may be experiencing vocal strain and I will give you three steps to finding more vocal freedom.

If your voice gets easily tired, your throat feels tight, or if it hurts to talk, you may be experiencing vocal strain. In my 20+ years of experience, these are the most common complaints of people with vocal strain or muscle tension dysphonia. This change in the voice quality or in the feel of the voice is caused by excessive muscle tension in and around the larynx, the voice box, or other places in the body that affect the vocal function.

How Vocal Strain Develops

Vocal strain usually develops over a period of time. It may start with an innocent laryngitis, or as a reaction to irritants, or after an episode of yelling and screaming, or even as a stress-related response of the body. Because of this initial cause, you may start relying or engaging other muscles to speak. The way you use your voice during this initial period can then develop into a habitual motor pattern that constantly invites constriction or involvement of other muscles that do not need to work during speaking. There may not be any structural changes on the vocal folds, but their function is altered as time goes by. And while the initial cause may be long gone, the voice changes remain because of the excessive squeezing or tension that is now associated with the new way of using your voice.

Other very common complaints of people who experience vocal tension are:

voice that sounds rough, hoarse, gravelly or raspy,
voice that is weak or breathy,
voice that sounds strained, pressed, squeezed, tight or tense,
voice that “gives out” or fades away,
an more ...

If you experience any of these symptoms, I know how frustrating it feels. The one thing that everyone around us takes for granted - our voice - becomes unreliable and every day you wake up not knowing how long your voice will last and how you can fix this problem.

Solution

But there is a solution. Let me give you three steps that are absolutely necessary to get rid of vocal strain.

Step #1 Visit a voice specialist

I’ve said this many times before but I still meet people asking for my help without visiting a voice specialist first. You cannot self-diagnose your vocal issues. I cannot diagnose your vocal issues, even if you send me a recording of your voice. Nobody can diagnose your vocal problem based on listening to your voice.

If you are experiencing vocal problems or changes in your voice that last for more than 2 weeks without the presence of an acute infection, such as cold or flu, make an appointment with a voice specialist, which is an ENT doctor - ear, nose and throat doctor.

Step #2 Eliminate vocal tension

Many people accumulate muscle tension even before they say anything. They may wake up with already tight muscles in their throat. Or they create more tension as they speak throughout the day and by the end of the day, the muscles are so tight that it is painful or even impossible to talk at all.

Therefore, it is good to have a set of exercises, vocal or silent, that can decrease muscle tension from your body. They can range from laryngeal massage and other types of manual releases to vocal exercises that use straws or other types of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises to release tension from the vocal folds.

If the reason for your vocal tension is related to stress and anxiety, then a daily meditation for your voice is something that you can do to release tension from your throat. This is a novel idea but it really works because meditation calms your nervous system, including the vagus nerve which also innervates the larynx.

Step #3 Build healthy voice use

The voice use that leads to vocal strain or even pain has motor patterns that cause the muscles to work too hard, inefficiently or unnecessarily. Think of it like too many body parts are working excessively even if they don’t have to. The only way to fix this problem is to learn to speak with efficient motor patterns again.

It is easily said but it takes time and dedication. And it usually requires help from a professional, such as a voice therapist or a voice coach. There is no quick fix for this step.

The approach I take with my clients is that we look at all of the possible sources of tension in the body and then we learn how to control different parts of the voice independent of all of the other structures. For example, we train to move the true vocal folds independently of the tongue, jaw, and the false vocal folds. We train to use the articulation muscles without affecting the vocal fold closure. We train to breathe without creating tension in your throat. We train to move the larynx independently of the tongue. Or we train to make louder sounds without taxing the vocal folds.

If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or pain when speaking, and you are ready to work towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom System coaching program. Click here to schedule a chat with me.

These are three steps that are absolutely necessary on the way to finding a voice without straining.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/OGh38uRpt1M

ERIN

"Katarina, this is an excellent unit on becoming aware of habits that might prevent efficient use of one's voice. For years I probably engaged in all of these harmful behaviours and it really took a toll on my ability to sing. It has taken me about 10 years to learn to fix a lot of these problems."

FEDERICA

"Katarina, if you didn't exist, one would have to invent you! You have helped me overcome and solve problems that I struggled with for the last eight years, and in such a sound, graceful way. Your lessons make complete sense and they are really helping me improve so quickly."