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Call for questions: Laryngology (VOICEBOXES) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-09-27 17:18:01
Imported:
2026-06

Content

So excited to chat with Dr. Ronda Alexander in New York tomorrow -- and thank you Patron Jessica Randolph for the suggestion!

So leave your questions about voices, voiceboxes, losing your voice, singing, nodules, and what have you below!

"Gaaaaaah!" [says my voicebox,]

Ol' Dadward

Comments

RJ Doidge

ASK ABOUT GAY VOICE. Please and thank you.

Frederick Raymond-Coursol

Ohhhh, why do our voices sound different inside our head from recordings ? I’m dying to know, thanks!

Jessie Dragon

What’s the best way to exercise your voice box to use it to the best of your ability? And how can we protect it when we strain it? Do you have any voice acting or screaming tips?

Delaney

why do peoples voices sound different? and how do some peoples singing voice not match their talking voice?

Sarah Jo

Is it true that clearing your throat consistently will just worsen the phlegminess?

Quincey Robisheaux

Is it possible to permanently damage your vocal chords from coughing?

Megan Duffy

Why do people change the tone of their voice when on the phone? Or is that only me?

Aubrey Nelson

I was told by my college choir director that I had an air leak in my voice when I sing. He had a name for it but I don’t remember it now. What is that and is there any way to prevent it?

AP

What is going on when we lose our voice?

Madelyn Dunkle

Dad!! Vocal chords. They are that chords that vibrate. How do we speak when it’s just vibrations?!?!

Delaney

what can we do to keep our voice boxes healthy?

Gracie Zrain

Can everyone learn to sing? What voice teachers are legit and are any not?

Garvey’s

Why does my voice get sore after reading out loud for literally one paragraph

Shelby Smith

Why do I hate the sound of my voice recorded?

Swisscheese Jess

Let's talk about opera singers. How do they train they're voices to go so incredibly high or low. And do they like operas? Thaaanks!!!! 🙃

Krista Oswald

When people with throat cancer get those devices they put up to that hole in their throat, their voices always sound more gravelly/gruff. Is this distortion from the device? Or is this because their voicebox has been utterly ruined?

Anna Thompson

I had "just a cough" for 2 years after I got a bout of bronchitis. We ruled everything out and eventually got diagnosed with chronic cough. It's gotten much better with vocal therapy and time but I still cough after meals sometimes. Why do bodies decide coughing for no reason is acceptable?

Jen A.

Why does being nervous make our voices shake? How can we control that?

Megan Duffy

I lost my voice for about a week. I just got it back actually. How does one lose their voice? It kinda came out of no where, but I’ve had it happen several times. Once you lose your voice once are you more likely to lose it again?

Garvey’s

Which type of screaming technique is less likely to lead to vocal nodes, false cording or frying

Stacy Litwin

First time questioner, long time supporter ☺️ I don't know if I have a specific question but I am curious about how to sing without ruining your voice box when you are trying to scream lyrics, like in metal music. I've seen lots of different videos of people trying techniques to keep that sound while not causing themselves harm

Allie Paul

First time question asker!! How much do tonsils affect the voice? I’ve been told I had huge tonsils since I was a kid but no doctor ever suggested they be removed.

Diana Staresinic-Deane

I recently had a sudden and random vocal chord spasm and it was terrifying. What causes them, how do you shut one down, and can they be prevented? (Just call me Diana S-D)

Kelsy Simpson

I second this one! Great question!

Tristan Debrunner

Mens’ and Womens’ voices tend to be different pitches on average. How much of that is due to physical differences, and how much is due to other factors like social norms?

Jenna Catalano

Why does it hurt your vocal chords when you don't use proper technique/ sing with your "throat" rather than your "diaphragm" (what is the difference anatomically between good and bad singing techniques?)

Red Cedar

how deep can our voices get? for example, I am on masculinizing hrt. is there a set stopping point for larynx growth, or could you theoretically obtain a voice as deep as you want?

Chris Curious

What is happening in the voicebox when people do throat singing?

Kim Franke

Why do I sound sick in the morning but it goes away after a couple of hours?

Hannah Matousek

How do vocal nodes form? And are they dangerous in addition to changing how your voice sounds?

Joe Mueller

What is the lowest vocal note that is actually achievable when singing?

Jamie Quinn

Why do some people have raspier voices than others? Why do I sound like a different person in the morning compared to midday??

Amanda McClendon

Singer here! Is there a way to stretch your vocal range or do you just get what you get?

Jacqueline Puschmann

Do accents have an impact on voice boxes (or the other way around)?

Red Cedar

this! I’ve heard rumors that some deep voiced guys are totally faking it and the “gay voice” might be more natural

Jenna Catalano

Is there any anatomical difference between singing and speaking or even rapping rather than speaking or singing?

Hannah Reilly

Ooooo please ask how/if woodwind players (bassoon, oboe, clarinet) use their voice boxes (or larynx?) while playing! I’m a bassoonist and studied this during my doctorate, so curious if they have any thoughts/experiences working with wind players!

Chelsea-Victoria Turner

1.Can you put effort into manipulating your voice box and which muscles contract and how the air moves to become a better vocalist? Since watching the charismatic voice YouTube chanel put a camera down the lead singer of Lorna Shore's (Will Ramos) throat, and actually being able to see what is happening....I have been trying this tactic and it does seem to work. 2. Opinion on harsh vocals like in metal music (I'm rooting for the metal here) Also you should totally watch that video. It's fascinating and always a beautiful thing when science and art come together like that.

Talia Dunyak

Does honey lemon really work?

Shelby Mills

Do our vocal chord emit noise below or above our ability to hear?

Celia Bell

How do surgeries like nose jobs or removal of tonsils or adenoids effect things like vocal range or quality? -Or- Is singing a “use it or lose it” thing like muscles for exercise? -or- How does aging effect singing? -or- At what ages/stages do voices change over time? I remember hearing my baby’s voice change a few months after they’re born and my again in preschool years.

Tessa

I would really like to know why I sound like a pitchy 14 year old on recordings as opposed to the voice I think I hear. Also, does the voice box have anything to do with how far the sound travels or in my case, does not?

Kelsy Simpson

After being damaged, will your voice box repair itself or do you just live with the damage forever? How does a voice box get damaged and how does that impact your voice?

Patrick W

If I lost my voice from karaoke-ing too hard, is the damage permanent? Does my vocal range worsen each time I stress my voice too much?

RJ Doidge

Yes!! And why does it suddenly seem to disappear when singing?!

Delaney

i have hashimotos, and it can make my voice creaky and painful. how does that work?

ConnieConnieBoBonnie

I went through a very traumatic experience when I was 18 and happened to be studying voice in college. For many months I struggled to sing without weeping, sometimes it would catch me by surprise. I ultimately took a break from school to heal my heart and was able to reconnect with my voice. I decided to change majors though, and now just sing for my own satisfaction. What connections have you seen between the voice and the psyche? What happens physiologically with our vocal anatomy when we get emotionally “choked up?”

Heather Weeks

Are there any structural changes to the larynx caused by hormonal therapy, for instance when people transition genders, or do the hormones alone cause the change?

Jim Sabol

Does a voice box physically change when comparing someone who sings vs. someone who does not, i.e. like a runner strengthens different muscles compared to someone who doesn't run

Shannon Siegel

If your voice box gets damaged can it fix itself or is it stuck at whatever state the damage has left?

Nicole

What affects our perceptions of what a "good" singing voice is? (Since it clearly goes beyond, and sometimes subverts, seemingly obvious aspects such as accurate pitch.) And/or, why is it singing sometimes seems to erase accents and sometimes seems to enhance them? And/or, what influences what vocal attributes we find sexy and what we find grating?

Allie Brown

Why can some people do a ton of different accents or go super duper high pitched or deep voiced and others can’t?

Ryan Clark

Can you talk about vocal changes and training for people who have or are undergoing gender transition? What are the limits for a female vocal range after having undergone male puberty, etc?

Michelle Dempsey

Multiple questions... How much of speaking is voice box and how much is tongue and mouth shape? Why can we mimic other animals but most other animals can't mimic us? Are there other reasons for developing such a wide range of sounds besides communicating danger, food etc?

Max Newman

As a musical theatre singer, I'm always looking to improve my technique. Since it's something I've always struggled with, that are your recommendations for a healthy belt?

Jack Sparks

I've heard from an opera singer that being fat or having a thick neck is an asset in opera due to voicebox things. Is that true or are we fat people just awesome at opera?

Ashley Bray

Ok so voice actors: are they just born with the ability to make a bunch of crazy different voices or can we all do it if we practice enough?

Melanie Ashton

Hi there! This question may be controversial so i understand if it does not get answered in the episode, but i intend it with the utmost love and respect💜... How do transgender people change their voice?

Delaney

when you're about to cry, why does talking (or trying to talk) open the flood gates?

Kelli Brockington

How can I keep my sultry early morning raspy voice without damaging vocal chords?

Tonia D'Amelio

First time question asker and professional opera singer / voice teacher here! What the heck is up with vibrato??? What does the most current voice science say about what causes it and why it varies so much among singers (and even in the same singer’s voice)? Is it mostly a function of what’s going on in the larynx? Thank you!

Hannah nolen

Are there known long term effects of glottal fry? Have there been similar popular speaking patterns in the past?

Delaney

what exactly is the lump-in-your-throat feeling when you are nervous, scared, or anxious?

Lux ❤︎

What is involved in the process for trans people who wish to make a vocal change as a part of their transition? What can help make it successful?

Michael MacLeod

Why can parrots talk and not all birds/other animals can? Why do we only refer to falsetto singing for men? Women can sing in falsetto too. How exactly does Mongolian throat singing work?

Hannah McCain

Ooh this is so interesting, I think there is a lot of flimflam here. My question is, why do some people's voices rest at a higher or lower volume. I've struggled with people getting annoyed that they can't hear me all my life.

Anna Friberg

why does testosterone lower vocal pitch but estrogen does not raise it?

Lauren Legg

What is the effects of smoking on the voicebox?

Brooke Williams

**how are opera singers able to be so loud!

Gabrielle Elliott

First time question asker! Evolutionarily, why do we find certain voice characteristics attractive (ie deep, raspy, etc)?

Jenna Putnam

My older brother and I both had trouble mimicking our parents when we were starting to talk - he spent a lot of time with a speech therapist, and when I had the same trouble creating sounds, the therapist suggested to my parents that they give me a whistle (and because of that I didn't attend speech therapy). What is the science behind this idea? Or what are some principles that speech therapists use?

Gail Coogan

I just wanted to comment that I received a message probably erroneously from Alie just saying “H” and I have to point out that I’m in a Facebook group that lovingly teases about the way seniors use the internet and for some reason just sending an “h” is a popular typo, popular to the point the group has “H” merch…that I purchased. Thanks for the H grandpappy ward!

WendiSoup

First time question asker/also Classical singer. Does acid reflux really cause a hoarse voice? Years ago, I knew a laryngologist who put everyone on acid reflux medication but nowadays, it seems "out of fashion" to blame hoarse voice on reflux. Am I just being gaslit about this? LOL

Miranda Rose

What happens when people lose their voices? Any advice for projecting your voice? Are different frequencies of voices easier to hear? (from someone who's always asked to speak up lol)

Rob

Can you train/change the natural pitch of your voice? I heard this happened to Michael Dorn (Worf on Star Trek) over many years from playing the character.

Erik Pohanka

Are there ways to train your voice to scream or at least sing loudly without injury?

Jen Logan

First time question asker, long time listener, and lifelong voice teacher: How exactly, physiologically, does vibrato happen? I’ve gotten different answers from different voice coaches.

Michael T Nealis

I also got the 'H' message and wanted to wish Dadward McPodcast a very merry 'H' also.

Kyle Harper

Lol, I received one as well.

Jesse Rose

Why don't I have a vibrato when I sing? I took singing lessons in my early teens, so I had vocal training.

Meaghan Walsh Gerard

What is it that we like / hate about voices? Is it like how humans can love / hate one another's scents or pheromones?

Tyler nelson

This ^ but in reverse also. Is it more effective to "train" your voice than to rely on hormone changes, is there a way to surgically alter you're voice?

Hester Dingle

Can one learn to sing nicely or am I forever doomed to sound like a squawking cockatoo?

Lux ❤︎

A close friend underwent a serious vocal change and impairment after suffering COVID. Their range shifted over an octave lower and their break is like a teenage boy’s when going through puberty. Biomechanically, what happened? How can someone recover from this?

Earl of Greymalkin

1) What determines how someone's voice sounds? Do the structures around the the voicebox determine the quality of your voice? How does that change over time as kids grow up and then as people get older? How do people use the fossil record and mummies to reconstruct what ancient people and extinct animals sounded like? 2) What's happening when you hiccup that makes you squeak? 3) How do you effectively speak loudly without it taking too much effort? (Asking on behalf of all the people who tell me I'm being too quiet.) 4) Some birds like parrots can be really good at mimicking human voices- how they do this with what I assume is pretty different voicebox hardware? 5) What evolutionary pressures selected voicebox features? 6) I've heard there's a 'proper' way to do growly metal vocals- how does this work? 7) Do opera singers have vocal cords that look like if Dwayne The Rock Johnson was a voicebox? How are they shaped when people use them so much? 8) What vowel is the easiest to yell and why? 9) Why do we sound funny when we get sick? 10) Can you as a voicebox doc use how someone sounds to diagnose problems or features?

Kyle Harper

How are singers in heavy metal/ screamo bands able to scream for extended periods of time without hurting their voice boxes?

Erin Gunderson

Please explain throat singing. How the heck do they do that??

Nicole Na

Everyone says my sister and I have very similar voices, even though we're 4 years apart. Is similarity in sibling voices due to similar upbringing/environmental factors, genetics, or a combo of both?

Anna Thompson

Why can some people roll their Rs in Spanish and some (aka me) can't despite having spoken Spanish since elementary school?

carissa

Not sure if this counts as laryngology but why do so many of us hate our own voices?

Naomi Jane

Why can't humans make cat sounds? 😂 Is it a physical impossibility?

Ellen Voss

I have a paralyzed vocal cord and have surgery scheduled where they will take a nerve from my neck muscle and "plug it in" to my vocal cord. I'm fascinated by the procedure and want to hear more about cool new medical treatments for a "broken" voicebox!

Lisa Keitel

First time question asker - What physical characteristics of the vocal apparatus determines your vocal range when singing?

Jessii Arp

Is it really THAT bad to whisper?

Paulina Krasińska-Sroka

Same! I'm halfway through cooking up some conspiracy theory about how Dadward is testing us for an episode 😅 (Which would be super cool!)

Nancy Kay Clark

I feel like my voice will never be the same after a bout with nodules and months of speech therapy. I'm not a professional, but I miss singing. What are the pros and cons of surgery?

Cass

I grew up with a kid who had a really low voice. He still does as an adult. Like it’s jarring and sounds like he’s doing it on purpose. When we were in high school he used to sneak onto the mics at his job and say, “fee figh foe fum” (sp?) over the loudspeaker after the store closed. Anyways, he always said he had an abnormally large Adam’s apple. Is that flim flam? What’s his deal?

Karlie V

Do people who start Testosterone have physical changes to their voice boxes? Or is that more of a hormone thing?

Bees knees

Julie Andrews had surgery on her vocal cords. It is said her singing voice was ruined, even if I believe her voice is still quite lovely. Have things improved since her surgery? Do they have more techniques to fix vocal cord issues?

Savannah McGuire

What part does the voicebox play in accents? In the USA, Southern accent vs Midwestern accent.

Celeste

How much of being a good singer is nature vs nurture? I know good singing can also be subjective, but I always wonder how much I could improve my karaoke.

Ariane Leroux

First time question asker: Voice surgeries, what sort of black magic is that? How does it work?

Eloísa Fróes

second the question about “fake-screaming” in metal music!

Aven

What happened to Julie Andrew’s voice? She had such an incredible range- what went wrong?

Leanna Shuster

How does the larynx physically change as humans age? Is this solely responsible for lowering of vocal pitch and changes in speech, or are there other structures also involved?

Coco&Zozo

Hey Alie me and my sister are obsessed with you and this podcast. We love it and recommend to everybody. So our question is: does your voice change every few years or with stages of life?

Sarah

First time asking a question; I've read that an operation caused Julie Andrews to lose her singing voice. What's going on with our vocal cord physiology that would result in that? Since she also tried other operations to try and repair it, why is such damage so irreversible? If we can train ourselves to learn to sing, presumably changing various facets of our larynx as we do so, why can we not train ourselves back up after damage?

Hope Shinn

First time question asker! Why are some people naturally good at matching musical pitches (i.e., singing) while others aren't? Is that determined by physical characteristics, neurological ones, a combination, something else entirely, or do we not know?

Adam Silk

First Time Asker - What are some of the unusual voicebox injuries or abnormalities you've seen? How did those affect the sufferer's voice? Do people get surgeries to change their vocal ranges?

Hannah McCain

This is so true! I am so picky! Let's just take a moment to thank dad ward for having a lovely voice 💕

Melanie Lee

Does getting your tonsils out change your voice at all? Asking from a person who's tonsils are always giving me trouble!

Matt Ceccato

How does a voicebox set a person's tonal range? For example, I've been a bass since my voice broke at the age of 13.

Lianne Murray

Long time listener, first time question asker. As a singer im curious what is actually happening when vibrato happens. Is there truth to what my teachers always said about being very hydrated? They always said "pee clear, sing clear". Do you sound better when very hydrated? Also, why do we have a "guest service" voice? I find most people have one that is higher and more "sing-song" than their natural one.

Frederick A Schweighardt

Why do some teen boys sound like a fart from a 600 meter deep blue whale, and other boys that same age sound like Tinkerbelle?

Courtney K

Great question! My son had his tonsils removed when he was three, and his voice changed significantly.

Spencer Parks

Can using your voice in the “wrong way” effect the throat muscles at all? How should the voice box be used when singing? (Sorry if this is too vague) I probably have more questions but I’m really intrigued by this episode because I use my voice a fair amount (and hopefully more in the future). I feel like it gets sore/tired kind of quickly. I’m thinking I may need to see a specialist.

Katie Munoz

I allowed an ear, nose and throat doctor to inject Botox into my vocal cords to reduce the tremor in my voice. (NOT successful -- I lost my voice completely for a few weeks, and then it was absurdly high pitched for months. Now it's normal again. WHEW!) My question is: Does this work for some people? And how close did I come to losing my ability to speak altogether?

Eloísa Fróes

also curious about trendy speech patterns of the past!

Lianne Murray

Lol i got the "h" as well. Maybe we all did?

The Open Road Before Me

First time question-asker here... What's a favorite non-human, vocalizing animal of yours with a cool adaptation to their voicebox morphology?

Brooke Fitchett

how specialized is the human voice box for language?

Courtney K

Are there strategies to prevent our voices from aging?

Caylie Evans

What do vocal warmups actually do?

Eloísa Fróes

i also came here because the H :) merry H for all fellow ologites 🥰

Hannah McCain

Can you explain how our voices change over our lives. Especially from childhood to adulthood?

Sherrie Dennehy

First time question asker - Can you talk about overtone singing (aka throat singing)? How can a vocal box make 2 sounds at the same time?

tofu_bahn_mi

is it possible to train my speaking voice to be lower? my regular speaking voice feels somewhat strained, but if i try speaking in a lower register my voice snaps back to the higher one

ariel.vanzandt

I start to lose my voice after only about an hour of speaking at a louder volume than usual (e.g. at a bar). What's up with that?

Christine Parker-Graham

What is the larynx doing during vibrato? Are all larynxes capable of it?

Euan Munro

Is there differences between the larynxes of people with large vocal ranges?

Rachel

Is it normal to be horse after shouting/cheering at events? What are things we can/should be doing daily for better voice box health?

Lianne Murray

Im very excited about this episode as i use my voice a LOT! between singing and being a wildlife educator, i end up losing my voice if i have many classes in 1 week.

Sam Acker

(Acker pronounced "acre," and technically second-time question asker, but never had my question read) It's well understood that how I hear my voice is different than how everyone around me hears my voice (see millions of embarrassed beet-red faces hearing back their voice on recordings). So how come when I'm pulling off an impersonation of Shaggy or Gollum, everyone and I hear it similarly? From the more common observation of hearing my voice differently, you might expect that the pitch of any impersonation as the speaker hears it might be different than how observers hear it, so it'd be hard for the speaker and observers to agree that the impersonation sounds solid. But I hear a perfect "Juicy sweet!" [a la Gollum smacking the fish] and so do the people applauding my perfect impersonation. Why is this different than regular speech??

Cameron Smith

First time question asker! So I'm a trans man and now that I've been on testosterone for six years my voice is much lower (like lower in pitch than most cis men). But I was already an adult and my body size hasn't changed (like my vocal folds aren't longer? My throat isn't bigger and more resonant?). So how did my voice got so deep? (PS Thank you Dad Ward for being trans inclusive on your podcast!)

Stephen Lickman

Thank you for asking this question! I've had these since I was 13 years old. They are painful and scary. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to what triggers them, nor how long they last. Sometimes massaging my throat helps and I feel a pop followed by relief. Other times I have to wait it out, sometimes for an hour. I would love to know how to prevent them.

Alena Litin

Whyyyyy do our own voices sound so different to us in our heads and does everyone else hate how their voice sounds on recordings??

Gerhard van der Watt

Can we really hear how a velociraptor sounded as per the Jurassic Park movie? (Fingers crossed it isn’t all BS)

Lianne Murray

This please! I was told in singing lessons that it better to cough than the clear you throat?

Eloísa Fróes

are there vocal fry equivalents in other languages? does it classify as an accent?

Lianne Murray

I call this guest service voice or customer service voice lol

Rebecca Wolf

First time question asker okay I have a few: 1. Do our FACE muscles contribute to our voice sound? 2. Are there GENETIC factors that create our voice sound? 3. Lung capacity? Nose shape? 4. How does one change the sound of their voice? Like Impressions but also like generally overtime? Okay all done.

Lene Olszeth

One of my previous roommates had a hole in her throat that she put her finger on to talk with a raspy robot voice, but I thought it'd be rude to ask her too much about it. What's that called, and why do people end up with them?

Laura Boer

Two words… Axel Rose… how can he sing that way and have such a low speaking voice?

Bailey Pyritz

effects of professional screaming? ive learned a couple different techniques, do you know if there’s ones that are better/worse for your voice than others?

Lene Olszeth

Is stuttering laryngal or psychological? What's the mechanics for stuttering?

Courtney Peterson

Is it possible to do a voice box transplant? If so would your voice sound like the donors voice?

Antonia Clark

Can anyone learn to sing or are some of us just hopeless cases that should keep it to the shower?

Alia Myers

How do we have so much and yet so little control over how our voices sound?

Chris Lipford

FTQA: What the heck is going on when people sing in the “whistle” register????? I need to know everything. Please and thanks!

Alia Myers

Are there elective surgeries to alter your voice box somehow?

Alia Myers

What properties of a larynx make voices sound deeper, louder, etc?

Meredith Snowlander

1. Can... anyone? learn to sing well? Or are people born with "good" or "bad" voices? 2. Are any of the "concerns" people have about vocal fry backed by science, or is that just misogyny? 3. Do different languages shape the way a voice sounds? As in, more nasal, lower or higher, etc.? Why/why not? I think my voice sounds different in each of the two languages I speak in my everyday life, but does it actually? 4. I've heard that certain municipal subway systems chose the voices they did to announce stops because they're "soothing" and maybe reduce violence. What's the science on this? Is it true? Do people find men or women's voices more calming, and is this why Siri and Alexa and so on have female voices and does this (unintentionally) reinforce misogyny by placing "feminine" voices in a nurturing/subservient role? 5. How does laryngitis work? 6. It subjectively seems like elderly people have stronger, less crackly voices than I remember them having when I was little--I'll hear people on the radio who sound like they're in their 20s and then it turns out they're actually in their late 70s. Is this a thing? And, if so, does it somehow have to do with the dramatic reduction in smoking in the past couple of decades?

cash.ruska

Trans-masculine person here! Give me the breakdown on how/why my voice changed when I started testosterone. I know my vocal chords got thicker, but why did that make my voice deepen and crack?

Lorene Wescott

**first time question asker** My sister & I both have very young voices (we're in our mid 30s but sound like preteens) what causes women's voices not to mature? Is there anything we can do to help this? I would love to sound like an adult & not have people insist I'm faking my voice!

Marie

Can i train my voice? It keep being in the same tone as background noise so i am rearly heard

Erik K

When in human evolution did the voice box evolve compared to the major sensory organs such as hearing and sight

Erik K

Is it possible to make a sound outside of the human hearing range?

Leslie Feldman

I can kind of answer this one! The semi scientific explanation is that voice production is quite complicated and involves multiple factors that impact resonance. Basically different acoustic factors, one of which being your head, that causes your voice to sound “different” when recorded vs spoken

Silas Clish

What changes do a voice box go through as someone takes testosterone over an extended period of time?

Sh4rkH4ts

Asking as a transmasc human; is there any correlation between the pitch of your voice before and after HRT? Specifically my voice was relatively high and soft before but is now fairly deep and soft so I have to speak up quite a lot to be heard.

Buhbrie

How does throat singing work? Also I've heard that the Xhosa language causes a lump to form on the larynx of native speakers, can we talk about that??

Pascal Perron

How does ventriloquism work? It sounds like they can produce p,b and m sounds without closing their lips, how?

Ayshia Yaeger

Is it true that whispering is bad for your vocal chords? "Asia" they/them!

Gabe Knuth

Sometimes someone speaks and I'm surprised by the way their voice sounds, so I often wonder why I even had that expectation in the first place?! Is there some physical cue that we're subconsciously aware of that sets that expectation (like neck length or nose size)?

Meghan McLean

Can you talk a bit about puberphonia?

Gabe Knuth

Why does it hurt SO BAD when you get hit in the Adam's apple?

Ariana Callahan

My voice doesn't carry at all, so trying to talk in a loud place (or use my "teacher voice" with a loud class) is hard. Is there a way to make my voice better hearable (is that a word?) without yelling?

Simon Bonisteel

For singers in metal bands, particularly death metal/metalcore, how does screaming like that affect your voice box? Does it cause damage/strain or is it just one of the many sounds we can produce?

Specs Owl

I've read that the difference between typically "male" voices and typically "female" voices are partly sociological, and that boys who are nowhere near puberty will start using a deeper voice as they're learning to communicate and socialise. Is this true, or is that outdated information?

Michelle Lee

Yes this! Also curious how the voicebox affects range vs how training (such as in singing) affects range.

Specs Owl

Why does it sometimes hurt my voicebox to sing for a long period of time (usually singing along on long car journeys by myself)?

Jasmine Kwasa

Why can I always tell the other person on the line is also Black (like me)? I know that race is a construct witih no biological basis, and that accents and dialects are the things that be reliably associated with race. AND I know that this is a sticky question! But is there something about ancestral original that can affect the quality of the voice, just like eye shape and hair textures can vary across the planet?

Jasmine Kwasa

Oh and why do some people have vibrato when they sing but others don't? Can anyone train their voice to have vibrato? <3

Susana Capucho

Can certain foods alter your voice? For example, due to their acidity and other properties

Popita

Is there anything specific that makes some of us good singers vs bad?

Sienna

I'm really interested in creating a format profile of a living singer's voice. How would YOU go about that?

Kate Timms

What is it that makes our voices higher or lower pitched? Can we learn to vary our pitch or will it always be hardwired to the one we are born with?

Karen Lechtenberg

As someone who yells across the room, yet no one hears me, what makes one's voice carry and other voices not? How does that physically manifest itself with the voice box? And is there anything I can do to be heard?

Shawn McSweeney

Why do some voices sound so rich and full and others sound so stringy and thin?

Sarah king

Throat music!! Tell me how they do it please. Does it hurt?? Like the band, the HU or Tibetan Monks

Melissa Berger

How do sinus and allergy problems affect your voice (and wishfully wondering how a soprano could retain that sultry “I have a cold” low voice when not actually sick…).

Julia Chirka

What’s going on when someone temporarily loses their voice? Or has never been able to speak?

Nina Giacobbe

I studied theatre in college, and my voice teacher would always tell us to "release the sacrum". If there any actual logic behind that or was he just a hippie? Also why does stretching my tongue make my singing more open/less strained? And what determines vocal ranges/where a person's singing voice sits? I'm a mezzo who can only belt from a mix and I'm always envious of people with a chesty belt (like Whitney Houston). What determines your bridge/where your voice switches from chest to head? Mine sits around a G and it was always the bane of my existence during vocal lessons ☹️ Also my last name is pronounced juh-KOH-bee 😉

Sonjabird

Tuvan throat singing! How does it happen? How do you learn? Can anyone do it?

Connie Brooks

OK, ya'll - laryngitis! I get it all the time! Some people never get it. Why am I prone to it? Are there any ways to make it go away faster once I have it???

NiceWarmBooks

What animal is most anatomically similar to humans, larynx to larynx?

Virginia Bruce

When I was in my 60s, it seemed like my voice lowered over night! When I attempt to speak in a higher register it just squeaks. What happened? I didn't have a sore throat or anything, and it has stayed at the lower register since. I'm now 76.

Miriya

Why can someone like Mike Patton sing 8 octaves and make all kinds of weird sounds and I can't? Is the inherent ability of the false vocal folds independent of the real vocal folds? What makes a voice "powerful" sounding? Someone like Lizzy Hale sounds very loud and powerful compared to other singers.

Julia Cape

Why WHY can’t I speak loudly enough in bars or when I need to speak up? Is there social anxiety-induced hoarseness???

Julia Cape

Also- can you be trained to speak differently? I’ve always hated my voice, it’s deep & quiet & raspy and I can’t sing worth shit.

Iris Hutchings

Singer here... What is physically happening when switching between head and chest voice? I can vaguely explain how it feels, but I'd love to know the physiology of it!

Emily Layfield

What qualities make your voice sound like "you" and not someone else? What makes voices different from each other?

Dantooine

What is the cause of someones individualized and distinct voice? Or, why do we all sound different when we speak?

Dantooine

Why do most people cringe deeply when having to listen to recordings of their own voice?

Dantooine

Why is Alie Ward's voice so incredibly soothing to me?

Dantooine

What is happening when we 'lose our voice' from either illness or screaming too much at a concert, etc.

Rachel Katz

What happens to the voicebox when someone goes through puberty? And what about when they go through hormonal changes twice, when they change genders?

Mendestria Provost

Oooo, always wanted to know: how are our voice boxes genetically similar/different to/from our parents/grandparents? Seems like our voices are like a fingerprint and that we have our own unique voices differentiating from those we are related to.

Tegumante

When you get an itch in your vocal folds, you take a sip of water and it seems to help. However, the water goes down the oesophagus, not down the trachea, and so it never touches the place where you felt the itch to start with. The same goes for cough sweets: the syrupy saliva you swallow from them never touches the trachea. How is it possible that they help to calm down a cough? Please sir, I don't understand sir.

Emily Layfield

Why is it that when choir directors give feedback like "darker" or "rounder" or "brighter" it makes total sense as a quality of sound? What is the voice actually doing?

Mark Hewlette

Why is it that when I finish with a "festive' weekend, I often lose my voice?

Ryano

For context: I recently had 2 cm of my epiglottis removed in a RARE-rare surgery to address my sleep apnea and then pinned back against the base of tongue (which also had tissue removed). I've been warned that I might have swallowing issues when I'm 70ish. What can I expect at that age and how might that be treated later on? Edit: Surgery was a partial Epiglottectomy and Epiglottopexy with partial Lingual Tonsillectomy. For the curious, it was not as painful as my sore throat during COVID.

multi987

Why does my voice unexpectedly get small when I'm very anxious? Like I intend to speak at a normal volume and it just comes out much more quite.

Emily Layfield

Super anecdotal so don't know about whether anyone can, but I definitely learned vibrato, the person teaching me claimed it was the natural state of the voice and not having it was a tightening/controlling one could learn to relax, and had me make big circles in front of my torso with my hands while singing to achieve it until I learned how it felt and could do it without the hands. Others' mileage may vary, and I have no other evidence to back up her claims :)

Kate Shaw

I love this, and I’m curious about the opposite as well: does inheriting voice box shape/size (or other traits) contribute to why we do sound like our genetic relatives? For example, my grandparents can’t tell my sister and me apart on the phone. I imagine we share learned speech patterns from growing up in the same house, but do our voice boxes also vibrate the same way or something (can you tell I don’t know what I’m talking about?)?

Leslie Feldman

Not a question but this one will need a follow up with an Audiology episode.

Sydonie S.

How do hormones effect your voice? Can hormone changes during pregnancy or menopause affect your voice like they can your vision?

Sean Lyons

First time question asker here: Why am I so loud? Inquiring minds would like to know (they would also like me to shusssshhhhh)

Sean Lyons

I figure it's related to the post 10 minutes later which started with "Hello Patrons!" Alternatively, aliens.

Ray Holloman

How does hormone therapy like testertone change the deepness of a transgender person's voice?

Brooke Troxmondo

A follow up to this would be are there things trans people can do to help hormones have the desired effect of changing their vocal range?

PrincessFroglips

Does doing vocal warmups (SOVT) through a straw actually work? Or is it very successful marketing to sell me a piece of equipment I don't need?

Miranda Buckley

Why/How are some distantly related animals able to imitate complex vocalizations of humans, while our closest relatives tend to be so shrieky? (Google 'Hoover, the talking harbor seal' and 'Ravens talking' to catch the uncanny valley heebie-jeebies) Is there any evidence that extinct species of Homo spp. were able to vocalize for communication and to what exteeeeeennnnt?!?!?!?!

Laura Roser

First time question asker here! How does getting older affect your voice? Does your voice box get damaged in the same way that you lose your hearing or eyesight as you age?

Beth Van Eman

I had my thyroid removed in 2016 and my voice has never been quite the same -- not as strong. It gets very tiring to talk toward the end of the day. Is there anything I can do to work on this?

Pavka34

Is it true that the human voice box, or it’s position on our throats, makes us more vulnerable to choking than other animals? Or am I mixing this up with something else?

Jona

Is it true that babies could become perfect opera singers if society and their parents wouldn't shut them silent all the time? Also, can quiet people learn to speak up?

Elizabeth Bush

Same! I sound like my mother when I speak - to the point that I've been confused as her on the telephone by people close to us, by my father, by my aunt. How is that possible?

Bennett Vanderbosch

Why does my voice still crack every so often even though I'm 30 years old?

Gerhard van der Watt

Awesome! I love Dallas Taylor and will give this one a listen as I don't recall listening to it yet.

Tony Cook

Is it true that if we cut everyone off right above their voicebox that we'd all sound the same? I had a voice teacher that told me this.

Tony Cook

Is it true that learning to speak is a fine motor skill?

Tony Cook

Are singer's vocal range due to the size of their voicebox or the dynamics after that (i.e. nose, throat, mouth, etc.)?

Lauren Seibert

Is there different things going on with different types of stuttering? Or where does it even come from/caused by?

Tony Cook

Which singer is a good example of the most 'pure' voice from an academic standpoint, so to speak? I've always been told opera singers' voices are heavily 'colored'

McKenna Speed

Why do tonsillectomies cause a change in the patient's voice?

JOLIN BLOOM

Why do some people have good singing voices and some not?

Zed Shirogane

Why do burps sound the way they do? It would be nicer to have more of a pleasant sound for off-gassing.

Alyssa Elliott

Second time question asker (but only because I forgot to call it out first time) - but - is it true you should try to talk when you’ve lost your voice instead of whispering? Is whispering bad? Can trying to talk when you’ve lost your voice damage your voice box?!? I ask this as someone who had laryngitis recently for 4 weeks. HELL. It was hell.

Average_pi

Whose voice does it sound like? Also, is it similar to auto tune?

E.J. Warner

So I’ve always gotten made fun of her being a loud talker, does it have to do with how much air I push out or my voice box? And why is general taking volume so different between people? Also, I am a teacher and talk all day, sometimes my throat hurts at the end of the day. Does our voice box have pain receptors or is my throat just inflamed? Why does our throat get sore from talking too much and should I be warming it up or doing some thing to prevent that? Could you have permanent damage in your throat from talking too much or too loud for a long period of time? And why are kids, as small as they are, so damn loud? A classroom full of kids is the one time in my life I’ve ever felt too quiet lol

Ashleigh Rivers

First time question asker! In college I lost my voice (and my “ear” for pitch, which as a vocal major… was not great— I had to change majors) for around a month. Years later, I lost it 4 years in a row for 3 to 6 weeks. Thankfully it hasn’t happened in a few years, but what is that all about? Can I avoid it in the future?

Lila Mankad

Does the size of an adam’s apple correlate with the deepness of a voice?

Bre Snodgrass

How does the way you talk engage different muscles/parts of your body? I had a physical therapist once comment on how different my voice sounded when I got my shoulders & neck into better alignment (and relaxed vs tense).

Krystal Symons

* First time question Asker * - I THINK I get beatboxing..but then my brain fritzes out if I think about it too long. HOW do polyphonic singers and beat boxers create so many notes at once?!! - Did Neanderthals really sound like that? When do we think we changed our pitch? - Why does testosterone permanently change a person's voice? Trans females don't get the same effect as trans males when on hormones? - side note- What is your customer service voice? The other voice you have for a professional setting in customer facing jobs Krystal Symons (~Sigh-mons~) from Melbourne (~Mel-bin~) Australia 🇦🇺

Nicole F

Is there any active research or discussion around "harsh" or distorted vocals, like those used in heavy metal? I know these techniques have been considered damaging to the vocal cords, but I've fallen down a rabbit hole (and made a lot of weird sounds in my car) after discovering this song by the Ukrainian band Jinjer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU). Some classical/opera singers have reacted to the video online and made 2 notes: the vocalist (Tatiana) is very relaxed while making distorted sounds, and she can easily return to "clean" vocals without any issues. Indeed, she and many other metal vocalists do this for hours per concert, day in and day out for years. But what are they DOING!? The main two vocalization types talked about online are "false cord" screams and "fry" screams. One opera Youtuber, Elizabeth (The Charismatic Voice), talked metal vocalist Will Ramos into having a laryngoscopy at the lab of Drs. Ingo Titze and Amanda Stark and doing some growls. The result is gross and fascinating (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua8SuWNPrLE). The scientists note toward the end that his vocal cords are no less healthy than a random person off the street. Check the end of this reaction video by Elizabeth as to why that's insane. https://youtu.be/HZaVXE5UqaQ?t=1374 What do you make of it? Is there any interest in harsh vocals in laryngology community? Do you think research on this type of vocalization will grow in the future? Thank you!

Julie Spradley

If you get an infection of your larynx can it make your throat close up? Is it potentially fatal like epiglottitis is?

Danae DeJournett

My husband keeps telling me that I don’t have an Adam’s Apple but everyone has one, right? Also, does size of Adam’s Apple/voice box correlate with how deep or high a person’s voice will be? How does singing come into the mix? Why are some people better at carrying a tune than others? Why didn’t I grow up to be the next Beyoncé or Christina Aguilera?

Bailey Pyritz

yes everyone has one! for some reason ive had to convince more than one person that women have adams apples. mines larger than average and so idk what they thought the thing protruding from my neck was if i didn’t have an adams apple 😭 lol

Emmett M Wald

How does falsetto work? Why do lower-voiced people have more range options? (Why is there no “reverse falsetto” or something?) What’s the difference between a “head voice” and “chest voice” etc.?

Emmett M Wald

What makes you get scratchy or whispery or lose your voice when you’re sick?

Emmett M Wald

Are there ways to repair damaged vocal chords? How? What kinds of damage can be fixed and what can’t?

Emmett M Wald

(Probs first time question asker, depending on whether you used my catacomb Q.)

Nico Peruzzi

What's happening here? https://youtu.be/0SJIgTLe0hc?t=370 This is Lalah Hathaway singing what appear to be multiple notes at once. A lot of the comments say it’s overtone singing but that has a really distinctive sound and I don’t think this sounds anything like it

Greg Walloch

Why does our voice break when we become verklempt?

Lizzy Martinez

My mom and her sister unfortunately lost their voices to ALS early on (and have both passed away from ALS). Have you taken part in research of conditions/serious illnesses that physically impact our voices?

gg

When I first watched HLN Morning Express with Robin Meade, I thought she was having a nasal issue. I can mimic a nasal sound. There's another newscaster who also is nasally. Is this a learned behavior that brings her octave down for older listeners? How much training did Aretha have to have a four octave range. How rare is the whistle register that made Minnie Riperton famous (omg mother of Maya Rudolph) (oh no my senility is kicking in).

April Desjardins

Why do men have deeper voices than women typically

Elizabeth Jimenez

How much does variations in voiceboxes affect vocal sounds and ability? So singers just have amazing voiceboxes?

Leineleineleineine

Caught corona during the first wave in 2020, and coughing my lungs out for weeks on end. During the night I'd wake up suffocating, breathing in was blocked. After some googling my symptoms looked like 'laryngospasm', a spasm of the vocal chords. Can you tell us some more about it? I read that MS patients can have it quite severely... mine went away after some weeks but it scared the hell out of me.

Lee T.

Why can some people sing like angels and some sound like out-of-tune instruments?

ChimeWitch

What's the breakdown of how we can sing several notes at once? (eg Tibetan throat singing, harmonic overtones)

Hryfna

Why do I lose my voices when I'm stressed? It's like it refuses to move for two weeks.

Dave Schuster

What is the balance between innate ability/talent and formal training when it comes to range

Tim McCollow

What’s goin on when you’re voice gets raspy? What physiological changes are occurring?

Kathleen Deyling

I lost my voice two Solstices ago where I smoked and chatted ALOT, esp. the smoking. Normally hardly ever smoke. My voice has been damaged ever since. Any hope to make it better again, ever?

Andrea Crain

I am a big fan of a particular band that consists of two women who have been playing music together since like 1986. One of them seems to have lost the ability to sing well over the past probably five ish years, and she is now warbly and off key a lot of the time. Was that inevitable aging, or should I be worried about her? (I shouldn’t be worried about her because I am sure she is perfectly good at managing her own health and she doesn’t know me from Adam, but I love her…)

Cate Muenker

Do medications change your voice box? I took albuterol a lot as a child and my voice is a little high and child-like. Great for telemarketers who ask my if my mommy is home, not that great as a lab manager that needs people to take me seriously! Always wondered if it is because my medicine.

Andrea Crain

Wow that is an interesting mystery! Were you otherwise sick and/or stressed out at the times?

Emily Okerlund

So. Many. Questions! Is it possible to fully return to your former voice after recovering from nodules without surgery? Or will your voice inevitably be different than it was prior to the nodules?

Emily Okerlund

What is your biggest advice for vocal health?

Emily Okerlund

Is there a connection between mental health (ie anxiety) and vocal health?

Emily Okerlund

Tell me everything about false vocal cords! I was told that my nodules were there in part due to overuse of my false vocal cords and speech therapy helped a ton but I still don’t fully understand what the cause was.

Emily Okerlund

Are some people more susceptible to vocal injury than others genetically or is the risk factor all based on behavior/lifestyle?

Emily Okerlund

I know that clearing your throat is terrible for your vocal cords. Do you have recommendations on alternative ways to get that relief from discomfort without causing more damage?

Courtenay Mercer

Why do siblings voices sound the same? (It's uncanny how much my sister and I sound the same.)

Courtenay Mercer

Why does my speaking voice sound so much different in a recording than I think it sounds IRL? (i.e I think my voice sounds fine, but cringe when I hear a recording)

Danae DeJournett

Oh, I think I know this one! It’s because when you speak, you’re hearing it with more resonance because of your skull or something like that. Your voice sounds richer to your own ear. I’m butchering this…

Danae DeJournett

Right? I’m like, “pretty sure that’s a voice box, hubby…and as you and I both know, mine is active and present. Yours is just bigger”. Testosterone and whatnot, I believe.

eHawk

Are there vocal habits that are irritating or worrying to you to (over)hear when out and about as a specialist? Do you ever pull people aside because of hearing something interesting?

Amy Vigallon

Why do accents “disappear” when people sing?

Snarky Mermaid

Why is it when I have to talk to people about something negative or emotional, I suddenly choke out and lose my voice. It’s like it’s being squeezed. Yet I have no prob public speaking to hundreds.

Erica Periandri

Why is it called a voice"BOX"? Also, how can I suck less at singing? (And if there are any tips for sucking less at singing- What's the science behind them?) thanks in advance!

Ashley

Why are women's voices on-average higher than men's? Is it all due to socialization or is there a natural/physical component?

Jesse Hurlburt

How do people change the way they sound or their accent?

Jesse Hurlburt

Why is my voice so strange when I listen to it in a video??

Rose McCathran

Please please please help LPR or "silent reflux". How do I save my precious folds from being incinerated?! Are PPIs the worst? Can we use them and yet mitigate the risks somehow? What do you think of Dropping Acid by Dr. Koufman?

Madi East

Is it true that you can tell if someone is pregnant just from their voice? I remember hearing about a whole range of crazy things our voice might allow us to diagnose, and it blew my mind.

Madi East

Ooh, and why do we often start mimicking the accent of someone we are talking too? Sometimes embarrassing, but also quite useful when trying to guess who your mum is talking to on the phone!

marina

Laryngospasm! I experience it (since 1974!), and I after the tragedy of Joan Rivers' sad surgical incident I am terrified of anesthesia. Do you have any advice that will relieve my worry? Thanks! :)

imaginary noises

what exactly is "vocal fry"? I know what it sounds like, but is it a recent thing? why do some people not like it? does it happen across cultures and languages? Also, how come we can't make some particular sounds in other languages if we didn't learn them as children? thank you!

Daniele Bourhis

Is there anything I can do to strengthen my voice? Ever since I had thyroid cancer I’ve had a more rough sounding voice. My throat gets dry very easily and my voice can crack and squeak. It’s obviously not a big deal, but can get embarrassing when people (frequently) ask if I’ve got a cold and I have to say “no, that’s just my voice” (Long time listener, thanks for being so awesome!)

Katie Rutkowski

Can voices be trained to sing in higher or lower octaves, or is range finite and specific to each person?

Ira Gray

Whats up with adams apples? Why are they visible? What are they exactly?

Ali Reil

My fiancé is an opera singer! A perk of being her almost wife is learning about the voice as an instrument. It does have me wondering, are there certain styles of singing which are more or less damaging on the voice for performers in their careers?

Sharika Elahi

why does my voice go away all the time - should I get this checked out

Natalie Prince

Why are some people tone deaf? Does it have to do with their vocal cords ( sound production) Or their hearing?

Olivia Brown

First time question asker! As long as I can remember, I’ve never been able to make myself scream under any circumstances. (There’s even an embarrassing story from third grade or thereabouts…I had to fill in for someone in a class play, and at one point the character was supposed to let out a scream. I couldn’t do it, so I said “ahhhh” like you would when the doctor is checking your throat. It was mortifying. I digress.) I’ve never done it involuntarily when startled or anything either. Could there be a physiological basis for this, or is it probably all mental? I also have intense social anxiety so the latter could totally be possible. I’m a cis woman with a lower voice, and I also have reflux issues, though obviously not when I was a kid. I almost feel like I can’t put enough power behind my voice or something (I also have issues projecting, but I’ve always assumed it’s shyness). Is that a thing?

Emily Rose

i studied voice in college & a lot of the work we did was around releasing the pelvic floor and the similar anatomical structures between the larynx and pelvis (i have a still from a scope of my cords hanging in my bathroom, and my mom was like ummmm is this a vulva???). is there anything to this? (i mean i understand releasing the pelvic floor to create space for diaphragm & lung expansion - but i mean is there anything to the idea that releasing one will help release the other b/c they're connected anatomically in some way)

Megan Duffy

Is there a correlation between speaking different languages and the development of vocals cords? Like people who speak German v. People who speak English. Just as an example.

Stacy Grissom

First time question asker here! I have Ideopathic Subglottic Stenosis and had 18 airway surgeries in 3.5 years including a tracheal resection (they essentially removed the bad section of trachea, pulled the remainder up and baseball stitched it back together). After the resection I was totally voiceless for 5 months and now 2 years later my voice is low and gravelly, has no range, and everyone always thinks I am mad and/or sick. Is there anything that could help my voice quality improve or do I just need to fully accept this is my voice (but I can breathe and have a voice, so it’s ok)?

Louise Combate

First time question asker - and soooo excited you have this topic in the roster!!!! Please help me understand, why do I lose my voice so easily and so frequently? I actually LOVE to sing (and drink haha!), and was hoping it doesn't happen so often. I also want to know if there's anything I can do to prevent losing my voice so easily, or any tips to get it back to normal quicker (it usually takes me 2-4weeks for it to be back to normal). Is it something I should get checked? Already so excited for this episode - thanks Dadward!

Timmy H.

Weed effects on voice box

Krista Jones

Voice boxes are definitely one of those human accessories I don’t understand as much as I should. Here’s something I understand less: How does an electrolarynx work?

Shaun Gritten

Is tea and honey a good remedy for your yodler?

Arica Starlinger

What’s the best thing we could do for our voice box to strengthen it? Drink honey? Avoid dairy?

Jess EyeballSurgeon

Which 90s boy band has the best vocals? What about Whitney v Mariah?

Jess EyeballSurgeon

Can you actually damage your larynx by yelling/screaming too much? Do we need to be doing any larynx daily exercises/upkeep to keep them in tip top shape?

Jess EyeballSurgeon

How does ENT/laryngology stack up to other fields in terms of underrepresented minorities?

R P Bergmann

What are the current practices for gender affirming surgeries (i.e. changing vocal fold length)?

R P Bergmann

How do metal vocalists do that THING when they sing?

R P Bergmann

What can be done to prevent hoarse voice/laryngitis?

Scott Pilkington

Two questions cos I'm selfish: 1. I read on Harvey Fierstein's wiki page that he has an overdeveloped vestibular fold in his vocal chords giving him a "double voice". What the? 2. I understand that people who work in freezing works slowly lose their voice and have only a cracked sound as the cold damages their voice box. How does that all work and is it reversible?

Julie Hall

Can one lower their voice non-surgically? Mine is so high I feel like people don’t take me seriously and have a hard time hearing me.

Justine Doll

What physiological change/damage is happening when someone has smoked for an extended time and their voice sounds deeper and raspier ?

Justine Doll

What is considered to be the most difficult vocal sound to make? What languages have the most unique or difficult vocalizations for not native speakers to learn ?

Justine Doll

What is the transmission speed of your brain/thoughts to speech? I have ADHD and I feel like my brain goes way faster than I can get words out and end up talking in a jumbled mess sometimes or squishing words together.

Tishangela Nierman

First time question asker: I donated my voice through VocalID. How are donated voices integrated with the voice of the recipient's voice to make a more personalized voice? I have wondered this for years.

Tena Sprenger

First time question asker. What are ventriloquists doing with their voiceboxes when they throw their voice.

Fiorelily

Hi Alie! Quick question, how the bleeping F are we supposed to figure out our vocal range? I've watched videos and I still can't figure it out. I mean I can go low with my chest voice and kinda high in my throat voice. So....?

Fiorelily

Yep, can confirm it can happen with MS. It frikken sucks. And can happen spontaneously.

Polina Nechaeva

I would like to know more about vocal chord surgery and vocal training for transgender people. How safe are the surgeries and how much can they change a person's voice? What is the efficacy of voice training alone compared to surgery? My partner is currently transitioning so it would really help to know an expert's take on this :)

Scott Gilb

Why do I sound like a tone deaf nasally dweeb when I sing and how can I sound like a mellifluous angel instead

Trevor Doty

What is an elephant’s voice box like? Are they similar to humans’? What about blue whales and dolphins? Do they produce their songs with a voice box?

Leineleineleineine

Sugared ginger! The marinated stuff you can put into cookies. Suck on it for a while and it really helps the voice recover. Burns a little though :-)

Tatum

Have human voices always sounded the same? Have our voice boxes evolved structurally over time?

Tatum

What is vocal fry? Like what’s going on physiologically to produce that sound?

Tonia D'Amelio

I’m super skilled at choosing whether to sing with vibrato or not (in various types of classical repertoire), but yet I still don’t know HOW I do it or what parts of my vocal tract are responsible!! I’m so curious to hear Dr. Alexander’s take.

choirqueer

Oh wow, I had no idea this was a thing that could be done and I too am fascinated to learn more! Good luck with your surgery!

choirqueer

I got H'ed too! ::mysterious wind chimes::

choirqueer

thank you for this addition to my vocabulary!

Stephanie Leské

Who's got a weird voice box? Do any species NOT have one? What are singing nodules?

Stephanie Leské

Who has the smolest & the largest voice box?? What's the [vocal] range?

Phil Bland

Are human voiceboxes distinct from apes in terms of capacity for complex language?

Phil Bland

Is there such a thing as a fossil voicebox?

bee

What causes vocal fry? Can it be corrected?

Barry Walsh

Not a question but I wanna hear whale song after the whale has sucked the helium out of a party balloon! :)

Nina Katz-Christy

Does the range of frequencies humans can hear exactly align with the range of frequencies we can potentially produce? Are there sounds we can produce but not hear?

Victoria Oetting

What singing note is hardest on the voice box? Why do singers lose their accent when they sing?

ALopez

My Grandpa was always soft spoken with a raspy voice and years after his passing I found out it was because his voice cords were partially paralyzed. How does this happen and what does it mean? Is there a way to artificially deepen your voice? Why does our voice sound different to us? Why are deep voices seen as more attractive in men? Is there a difference in the voice box depending on your first language? Thought on Elizabeth Holmes' voice?

Alyssa Ranker

Can you talk a little bit about the Castrato practice on Catholic choir boys?

Pacheecha

I used to be able to sing on tune and then I smoked too much ( which I have since then quit years ago). Is there a way to bring my vocal chords back to being able to sing a note without either splitting into multiple notes or shifting from my intentional note to another unintentional one?

Jess.jp

first time asker! I have a stammer, Americans usually call it a stutter. I'd like to know whether or not the voice box plays a part in neurodevelopmental stammering? I know that stammers can be caused by damage to the voicebox but what happens when no damage has occurred?

Quinn West

Do parrots have voice boxes? If so how the heck does that work with different mouth anatomy?

Dante Bruno

How the heckle do screamo artists / people that yell for a living not lose their voice? Like do some people just have better vocal endurance naturally or is it something we can improve with practice???

Traciduck

My dream is to one day fall into a coma as a result of some minor injury, then wake up suddenly able to sing like a songbird. Can that happen? Can people have dramatic changes to their voicebox in adulthood and have vocal capabilities they did not have previously?

Keri Overall

I was wondering the same things, as well as the question of whether all human voice boxes are the same or if there are variations based on global location and/or language!

Emma Bockrath

How do whistle tones work? (See: Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, etc.)

Gordon Haas

Please tell us about Tuvan Throat Singing and kittycat purrs.

Paige Price

Does drinking milk affect your ability to sing short term? My high school drama teacher always stressed NO MILK before a performance

Sarah McEachern

Why does helium change our voices? Is there a gas that does the opposite? (makes voices sound lower?

Ashleigh Rivers

Pelvic floor is definitely involved in breath for singing! Pelvic floor-ology maybe one day??

Ashleigh Rivers

The first time I had a really bad reaction to mold and got fully sick in top of that. The other times, 50/50. The one that lasted 6 weeks oddly, not really sick before, just a sore throat for a few days then… no voice.

Ashleigh Rivers

Ooh, another one— whispering— bad for vocal chords, right? Or just really drying so it irritates more?

Nicole Gfroerer

I have also always been told not to drink milk while sick with a cold or anything else that causes upper respiratory congestion. Not sure if it's true or just confirmation bias but I always thought it did help me stay less... mucousy? ... in the throat ... ew.

Nicole Gfroerer

As a former linguistics student, I could never ever get the hang of producing pharyngeal consonants. Since it's in the same neighborhood as the larynx, any tips?

Bálint Novák

What is the most unexpected creature that has a soundbox? What are some unorthodox uses for soundboxes in the animal kingdom? :)

Beck

Please to explain the mechanics of how hormones affect voices. Do you have stats on vocal sexual dimorphism? Obviously the ranges overlap quite a bit but how much? And do you think it's possible for me as an AFAB person to lower my voice enough to pass as male without giving up ovulation? And if yes how? Edit: Also what can I do to get my vocal control back after years of smoking too much weed? I used to be so good at singing and now hitting notes that are well within my range with any accuracy is a struggle. Is it just practice? Is there some kind of magical tea I should be drinking? Is it too late?

Mason Hart

Is it actually possible to replicate the voice box of extinct animals like they did in Jurrasic Park 3? When they 3-D printed one for a velociraptor? Or is that just more pseudoscience from that franchise?

Emily Davies

Two animal questions: 1. Can you talk about the way birds can sing two notes at once? Did that only evolve in birds or other groups too? 2. How do you feel about the surgery that “quiet barks” dogs?

Rachel Selby

Some people say that musical artists damage their vocal chords by “singing wrong.” What does this mean, and how does it affect the vocal chords? What is happening when we “lose our voice” while sick?

Victoria Oetting

Who has a better singing voice, Mariah or Whitney?

Rachel von Morrigan

Do vocal chords get calloused? I mean, you use it too much and you get hoarse and it comes back. Is it something like a callous?

Nora Bartley

A bit of a rude question but why do some people have “annoying” voices or laughs (myself included) and what is registering as grating on the listening end?

Teresa Gleason

When you yell a lot, your voice gets “hoarse” (inflammation of the larynx?) and sometimes it becomes permanent. Why does this seem to happen to people at different rates?

Chunglefutts

First time asker I'm pretty sure?? (in case this gets picked, my name is pronounced like "Margaret" without the "grrr" 🦖 you can roll the R for extra authenticity!) I typed out a big long question in typical ADHD fashion, trying to explain what I was asking and acknowledging caveats and confounding factors and I had to tie a sandbag to that thought balloon and tell my brain to keep it SIMPLE! So here's my agonizingly direct question: Why does talking not sound like singing?

Francesca Hernandez-Singer

Sooo, I'm one of those people who loses their voice the minute my body even considers getting sick. My voice is naturally a little low and goes all Kathleen Turner at the drop of a hat. My four-year-old daughter seems to share this tendency for hoarseness. I also have a voice I describe as "soft-edged" which is soothing but difficult to hear in a crowd. Why do some people's voices have crisp, hard edges and others are creamier and fuzzier? If it is structural, can a voice be trained to be harder and more clear? What's up with that??? Is it a structural thing? Are some people just prone to losing their voice? Are there some people who never lose their voices?

Sam Bringman

What is the evolutionary development of the voice box? How did it come into being and from what anatomical structure did it begin in our ancestors (or do we know)?

fullmetalknee

Why does my husband's deep voice sound like it's echoing and amplifying in his own body? He also makes the LOUDEST sound when swallowing water. Ste these related?? (He loves me so this line of questioning is fine lol) Why and how do radio announcers, sportscasters, loud sales people, etc throw their voices in such distinct ways? And who decided for each of those that they were all going to sound the same? (Hockey announcers all sound similar to each other but sound different than baseball announcers who all sound similar. What. ) And throat singingggggg

Abby Grieb

How do singers like Mariah Carey and Arianna Grande make those whistle tones!??

Neelu Varghese

How does your larynx change during childhood? For example, are there any benefits for beginning to learn how to sing at an earlier age? Can this help you gain better control of the muscles involved? Or is there too young an age to start?

Kendall Hargis

why does my voice hurt after I yell?

Christopher Anderson

First time question asker: What's going on with the phonation breaks during an adolescent voice drop? Also, what's the physiology behind throat singing?

Jenna Congdon

Nurse here- can you talk a little about how the throat/voice/swallowing muscles are affected after someone is intubated, especially after a long time? (Surgery vs ICU stay). It's something that really can cause issues with speech and swallowing after the fact but nobody seems to talk (hehe) about it.

Lucian Stern

What happens to the voice box/vocal chords during throat singing?

Antoinette Palmieri

Why do my allergies affect my voice box? I feel as I am getting older and growing into more allergies that I am loosing my voice.

Pauline Depierre

Do opera singers have different voice boxes than the rest of us? Why do we hate our voices so much when we hear a recording of us talking (not you Alie!)?

terry goss

I guess this isn’t a question… BUT.. as a lifelong metalhead, I’ve always been fascinated by the different ways singers (& screamers & growlers) are able to maintain such punishing vocal work so so many nights, for so many years. I mostly know physically what’s happening, but it’s impressive. 🧐

terry goss

*for so many nights…

terry goss

There it is! That was my immediate thought. I could do a 30min gig but then be unable to speak for a day. 😫🤕🤒

Mary Long

What is happening to our body that changes our voice as we get older?

Jamie Spring

Why do voices all sound different?

Zachel Bachel

What *exactly* is vocal fry (ie. leaning into your inner valley girl, hard) and why is it the worst?

Kendall M

When I was in choir in school I was always told not to eat chocolate before a concert because it'll make you sound bad. Is there any truth in that, or is it an old wives tale?

Kimberly Medicis

Do different accents impact the structure and formation of vocal chords, and if so, how?

Savannah Glenn

this! is dairy bad too? i’ve also heard that sugar isn’t helpful?? what is real???

Fwaeldling

FTQA as an entity in a transmasc body since the voicedrop from testosteron we cannot seem to carry a bunch of notes anymore, but it's also as if we have to use different muscles/strategies to sing at all, what tf is up with that?! thanks Lea

MN_09

Hi! This is my first question as a patron (yay!) I am curious to know: why do our laughs sound so differently? So many people have such special laughs.. the tone, the tempo, the duration differ from one person to the other... why is this? (I am guessing that since sound comes out, the voicebox is involved) What is the science behind it? Thanks, Lidia from Romania

Maisie Lopez

as a singer who has multiple times lost my voice, is vocal rest and honey lemon tea actually helpful?