Laryngitis can be a real downer when you're performing and doing 90% vocals, which is what I HAD been doing. Now it's 90% instrumental. Mine started with a cold and strep throat, both of which have cleared up, but laryngitis has been hanging on now for over 2 weeks.

Anybody been confronted with this? Suggestions?

Glenn

What I usually do is drink lots of tea with lemon and honey, and speak like Elmer Fudd. If I have a stuffy nose aswell I make a lot of hollow 'Mmm' and 'Nnn' sounds. It seems to relax the throat and clear the sinuses.

I also used to sing everything down a semitone or two, but that usually made things worse, because I was not used to singing in those keys, so that made it more stressfull on my throat.

But the best remedy is sing as little as possible, and rest your voice. But we all know that it is not always an option...

Doc-Z

Glenn...you may have already done this, but, if not, you should see a doctor...laryngitis hanging on for more than a week, should be looked at.

It's probably nothing, but better safe than sorry, and the doc might have some suggestions on helping it get better.

[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 10-18-2009).]

Hi Glenn, in addition to as much vocal rest as possible, keeping the throat warm and hydrated brings added blood to the irritated throat-larynx and help speed up healing. To keep your neck area warm, remember to always wear a scarf around your neck when you go outside.

I also highly recommend using a personal steamer-inhaler 3-4 times a day:

Vicks Personal Steam Inhaler

If the problem contines to persist, I recommend seeing a good otolaryngologist (aka: ear, nose, throat specialist) with experience diagnosing & treating professional singers. Good luck.

Scott

Rest your voice as much as possible, which is difficult--I know. The next best trick I can pass along is one that I learned many, many years ago when I was a newscaster on the radio. I came to work one day and could barely whisper. My program director sent me to the frig for a small jar of sour onions. His exact words were "Chew on one of these and you're good for 20 to 30 minutes, which was more than enough time to do my 15 minute newscast. I've used this technique many times since, and more often than not I can get about 30 to 45 minutes of vocal quality without a raspy voice.

Apparently, and this was also told to me by a good friend and ENT physician, the vinegar anesthetizes the throat and vocal folds, while at the same time washes away much of the offending mucus. It works for me.

BTW: I've tried the tea and honey recipe and it did not work for me.

Good Luck,

Gary

this may not correlate but I will post it anyway in response to your post.
there is currently a guy that is a member of my email list that is getting treatments for cancer, a tumor at the base of the tongue and another tumor on the left lung. They say he is stage 4 terminal.
You should go see a doctor just in case.
Bebop

I've used most of these remedies over the years and very often some of them work. However there are times when I've just had to back out and let the voice come back naturally. And I have a very extensive singing schedule not only with gigs, but with more classical stuff around the holidays. As I love to tell people, if your keyboard, or trumpet, or whatever doesn't work, you can always go out and buy a new one. But you can't buy a new voice. You have to take care of it.

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala