You open your eyes. You pad downstairs, drink some water, check your emails and social media, then move into your studio. You pull up your scripts and your DAW and as you open your mouth to speak; a raspy, fried, hoarse-like noise is emitted.
“Crap,”, you think, “my throat doesn’t hurt. What is going on?” You go get another glass of water, some Throat Coat tea, lozenges, Singer’s throat spray and you open your mouth again to speak and it’s the same. You scream (do this inside your head because everyone is sleeping), but you know it’s going to be at least two weeks before you can work. Why? You have LARYNGITIS!
Laryngitis is the bane of the voice actor’s existence. Nothing derails a voice-over artist like laryngitis. So what exactly is it and what can we do to make it go away!
According to WebMD, “Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). This organ sits in your upper neck just past the back of your throat. Swelling of the vocal cords muffles sound, and you are hoarse. When you try to talk, all that comes out is a whisper or squeak.”
Laryngitis is typically caused by infection or overuse of the vocal cords. Although many times it appears along with a sore throat, that is not always the case.
There are plenty of ways to deal with the symptoms, but in general, laryngitis is gonna be around for 1-2 weeks.
Ok, I have it, but what do I do about it? There are the typical home remedies:
- Plenty of decaffeinated fluids
- Clear fluids like water, juice, clear broth and tea assist with hydration, loosening phlegm, and flushing out mucus
- Clear fluids like water, juice, clear broth and tea assist with hydration, loosening phlegm, and flushing out mucus
- Lozenges
- These help to add moisture to your through, relieve pain, and minimize coughing.
- Don’t talk (Even whispering is harmful)
- More than anything your voice needs rest. The best thing you can do is to just shut up for about 3 days. It never hurts to be a good listener!
- Humidifiers
- Dry air can cause more irritation and further inflame the vocal cords. Using a humidifier helps to moisture to the vocal cords. Personal humidifiers like the Mabis Inhaler is an excellent way to moisten the vocal cords directly.
- Ibuprofen
- Helps to relieve the pain and reduce the inflammation
But if you want to go more homeopathic there are some good natural remedies that can help as well:
- Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) has antimicrobial properties that can help fight infection. Pour 1-2 teaspoons of raw, unfiltered ACV into a glass. Add honey and drink it 2x daily.
- Slippery Elm tea with lemon is a remedy used in Eastern and Native Indian medicine to help heal inflammation in the upper airway
- Ginger Root helps to suppress the cough that can accompany laryngitis.
- Adding essential oils to a diffuser or your humidifier. I put peppermint and eucalyptus in my MABIS inhaler and it helps open the areaways and soothe irritation.
- Pineapple-Carrot Smoothies. I had a terrible bout of laryngitis at the end of December and since I had an audiobook and other projects I was trying everything I could do to rid myself of this malady. The lady from Natural Grocer swore by this. I went home and made it and I will say within a few days my laryngitis was noticeably better. Now I was also nearing the end of my 2 weeks, but who’s to say it didn’t speed up the process? If nothing else it was delicious!
Laryngitis sucks, especially for a voice actor, but since we use our voices for a living, we are also more prone to it than the general population. The remedies listed above are all ways to help mitigate the damage but you will still have to sit out for a week or two until it resolves. As always, prevention is the best cure, so make sure you are treating your instrument with loving-kindness on a regular basis. Who knows, maybe if we start talking less and listening more we not only avoid laryngitis, we might even learn a thing or two.
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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