Vocal Cords

Voice care: Sorting fact from fiction

It’s a myth that what you eat or drink comes into direct contact with your vocal cords. Drinking honey or tea, or gargling salt water or apple cider vinegar can definitely be soothing for your throat, but they aren’t washing off the vocal cords. If you do use cough drops, we recommend using glycerin-based products and to avoid menthol. Prolonged use of menthol can further irritate your throat.

Collagen: Botox for the Vocal Cords?

As more Americans live longer, some are finding that their vocal cords are worn out before they are. Emory Voice Center Director and otolaryngologist Michael Johns joins Lunch Break with examples of how voice therapy and even surgery can make all the difference.

How to actually fix a lost voice, according to science (hint: lemon and honey doesn’t work)

For centuries, and across different cultures, people have believed home remedies to be a handy solution for different illnesses. Losing our voice isn’t an exception. Websites abound with proposed solutions including ginger, lemon, salt water gargles, and tea with honey. However, put simply, there’s no evidence these home remedies work to recover a lost voice. And there’s a dearth of information out there on what actually works for treating voice issues.

Taking Care of Your Voice

Researchers are exploring how the brain controls the muscles and nerves of the larynx and tongue, and how these structures move to produce speech. This information may help other scientists design better treatments for conditions such as vocal fold paralysis and spasmodic dysphonia, which can damage the voice. It may also help researchers design new rehabilitation strategies to improve the quality of life for people challenged by severe voice disorders.

The Age Your Voice Will Start to Sound 'Old'

We often associate getting older with physical changes, like wrinkles, grey hair or our flesh submitting to the force of gravity. But the body doesn't just show its age through extra lines and new aches in previously unknown body parts – you can hear it, too.

Why do stars like Adele keep losing their voice?

More and more singers are cancelling big shows and turning to surgery to fix their damaged vocal cords. But is the problem actually down to the way they sing?

Your Voice Can Get Old, Too

Doctors are searching for more permanent ways to help voices maintain their loudness and pitch

Vocal cords grown in the lab stretch, vibrate, and make sound in scientific first

For vocal cords, producing sound is no mean feat. They need to be flexible enough to vibrate, but tough enough to withstand smacking together over a hundred times per second. If our whole bodies were subjected to an equivalent force, we’d be ripped apart.

Vocal Cord Disorders

The most common cause of vocal fold disorders is vocal abuse or misuse... This includes excessive use of the voice when singing, talking, coughing or yelling. Smoking and inhaling irritants are also considered vocal abuse.

How blowing into a straw can save your voice

Apparently, the straw technique can not only give you a voice that's stronger and more difficult to lose, but it can also relieve a tired voice.

Scientists grow working vocal cord tissue in the lab

For the first time, scientists have created vocal cord tissue starting with cells from human vocal cords. When tested in the lab, the bioengineered tissue vibrated—and even sounded—similar to the natural thing. The development could one day help those with severely damaged vocal cords regain their lost voices.