They can first check to makes sure you’re not suffering from health problems-such as lung diseases-that limit your airflow. If you keep your head slouched down, you may not be able to take in as much air when you speak, which would make projecting more difficult, she says.īut if loss of vocal power limits your ability to do your job or communicate, see a laryngologist, voice therapist, or speech pathologist. What to do about your voice change: Work on cutting stress- these 19 ways to live a stress-free life can help-or managing its effects with muscle-relaxing activities like massages, Emerich advises.Īnd check your posture. This prevents the edges of your vocal folds from touching, decreasing the force and intensity with which you can articulate. Your reduction in muscle mass, loss of ligament flexibility, and hardening of tissue around the larynx can cause your vocal folds to curve. Johns says.Ĭredit something called vocal bowing, too. This limits the amount of air available to amplify your utterances, Dr. Your lung capacity begins diminishing at about age 35. This effect is often reversible-but if you’ve been dealing with it for a while, you might need voice therapy in addition to relaxation techniques to address it, Emerich says.īut growing older plays a role, too. Related: 8 Weird Signs You Are Stressed Out As a result, you won’t be able to speak as loudly or full-throatedly. This squeezes the vocal folds and limits how much they can vibrate, reducing your resonance, Emerich says. When you’re stressed, the muscles inside and surrounding your larynx tense up. Johns calls them vocal naps-for at least five minutes out of every hour. Hunter recommends playing a straw like a kazoo, or making siren noises. Warm up for a few minutes beforehand to stretch and prepare your vocal cords for action. If you have a big vocal day ahead of you-say, if you have a speech scheduled or will be talking in front of a large group-prepare for it the same way you would a tough strength session. The pitch you’re at when you cough, laugh, or let out unintentional conversation fillers like “uh-huh” or “mmm-hmm” can help you find where you should be. Speak as closely as possible to your natural pitch-that means stop trying to mess with your voice to sound lower, she says. Using your voice regularly and properly can keep your larynx in the best possible shape too, says Kate Emerich, M.S., a voice pathologist and singing voice specialist in Denver. Related: What and When you Should Eat to Build Muscle This also strengthens the muscles that support your voice, Hunter says. What to do about your voice change: Hitting the gym helps you build or maintain muscle, which helps offset the muscle loss caused by sarcopenia.
The shift occurs gradually, but becomes most noticeable by the time men reach their 60s, according to his research, which analyzed 50 years of a leader’s speeches. Think of the difference between a ukulele and a stand-up bass: In general, the bigger the instrument, the lower the sound it produces, Hunter says. Your vocal folds aren’t spared from this shrinkage, Hunter says.Īs the muscle fibers within the folds become less bulky, your voice sounds higher. Each is about the width of a fingernail, made mostly of muscle, and lined with mucous membranes.Īfter about age 30, you start to lose muscle mass all over your body, a phenomenon called sarcopenia.
Johns, M.D., director of the USC Voice Center in Los Angeles. Your larynx contains two vocal cords-or as experts call them, vocal folds-that vibrate about 120 times per second to produce sound, says Michael M.