A Teacher’s Voice: A Vocal

Hygiene Workshop
Bethany Lormis
WKU SLP 508
Fall 2020
Audience Background
The audience chosen for this vocal hygiene workshop is Thomas Tygart,
superintendent of my school district, along with the teachers from each school. Mr.
Tygart is concerned about the number of teachers using sick days due to voice related
problems, and he wishes to hold a workshop during the next training day. This
presentation is meant to provide a basic and practical workshop to help teachers in the
school district practice healthier voice habits and reduce the number of staff using time
off due to voice issues, as students benefit greatly from having teachers that are
consistently in the classroom.
Ugh...Another Workshop
Yes, you will be here for more than 30 minutes, but for good reason!

You are all teachers *cough-superheroes-cough*

You talk for at least seven hours every day...over a dozen+ children...playing on iPads
without headphones...or leaning upside down out of their seats making George of the
Jungle sounds.

Your voice is your greatest tool. Your students depend on your voice to instruct and
guide them through their school day.

So let’s buckle up and learn some strategies to keep our voices healthy, and maybe
we’ll have a couple laughs along the way.
Basic Terminology
● Have you heard of the terms vocal misuse and vocal abuse?

● Well, another term used more often now is phonotrauma: “Voice use patterns

leading to traumatic tissue changes of the vocal folds” (Addler, n.d.).

Vocal hygiene includes taking care of
our entire vocal and respiratory
system: lungs, trachea, pharynx,
mouth, and nasal cavity.
Basic Terminology
Aspects of the voice

Pitch: the register of our voice (too high, too low, pitch breaks)

Quality: smooth, hoarse, raspy, breathy, strained etc.

Loudness: volume

Resonance: Hypernasal/hyponasal

Respiration: loud breathing, weak breath supportQuality, Resonance, Respiration, etc.

Prosody: rate and rhythm of speech

(Boone, McFarlane, VOn Berg, & Zraick, 2019)
 Healthy Voice Unhealthy Voice

(fyrTV, 2016; LinguaHealth, 2012; Osborne

Head & Neck Institution 2014)
Symptoms of a Damaged or At-Risk Voice
● Hoarseness
● Aphonia (loss of voice)
● Sore throat
● Breathiness
● Pitch breaks or irregular pitch
● Voice breaks
● Tired easily from talking
● Excessive coughing/clearing throat

**Questionnaire from ENT http://www.sfotomed.com/webdocuments/questionnaire-voice.pdf

**Fill this out based on your current voice symptoms or your most recent
experience with voice issues
 How many of you have experienced one or
more of these symptoms for more than 3
days?
( (# of people who answered yes) / (# of people in here) ) x 100 = % who have experienced vocal damage
How do we damage our voice?
Functional Causes Psychogenic Causes Organic Causes

● Overuse ● Emotional & ● Physical abnormality

● Muscle tension psychological trauma
● Vocal fold polyps or
nodules (benign
growths on vocal
folds)
● Laryngitis (irritation
and swelling in
throat)
● Acid reflux
○ Anxiety, traumatic ● Contact ulcers
event, depression, ● Diseases and
major change, disorders
personality
● Puberty
disorder
● Recurrent illness
(Boone et. al, 2019)
Real Life Situations
● Screaming at a concert, on a roller coaster, or at a sporting event
● Allergies
● A cold
● Emotional trauma (a severe accident, death, or life change)
● Cancer
● Dehydration
○ Sweet tea & Diet Dr. Pepper don’t count!
● Excessive speaking
● Poor singing habits
● Smoking
Breakout Session #1
STORY TIME:

● Get into groups

● Share experiences of voice damage or loss
○ You can use fake names if it’s really embarrassing (i.e. screaming at a Jonas Brothers concert)
● Include symptoms and possible causes

**Also a great time for a quick restroom/snack break

**We will resume in 15 minutes

So, I lost my voice….now what?
● Wait it out- rest and hydrate
● Go see a doctor if:
○ Symptoms last more than a few days
with no improvement
○ There are accompanying symptoms
■ Acid reflux, illness
● May be referred to an ENT
○ Laryngoscopy- a scope with
a camera and light is inserted
into nose or in mouth to see
vocal folds
● May be referred to an SLP
○ Voice therapy
○ Vocal hygiene information
(McFarland Clinic, 2013)
Voice Facilitating Approaches
1. Chant-talk
a. Like Gregorian chanting (singing monotone while saying words)
2. Confidential Voice
a. Increased breathiness, breath support, slower rate of speaking
b. Level 2 loudness- not loud enough to wake a sleeping baby
3. Establishing a New Pitch (lower or higher)
a. Find register that sounds the best while using the least amount of effort
4. Glottal Fry
a. Lower register of voice that sounds gravelly (useful for someone with nodules)
b. Release ½ of air then say “eee”, mouth open medium wide, tongue out, throat wide
5. Inhalation Phonation
a. Guide voice with palms facing up & moving up (inhalation) or palms facing down & moving down
(exhalation)
b. Say “eeee” on inhalation, then on inhalation and exhalation (Boone et. al, 2019)
Breakout Session #2
● Get into groups
● Practice 2 or 3 of the voice facilitating approaches
● Talk about how each one affects the qualities of your voice
● It’s ok if you sound silly...everyone around you will too!
● We will resume in 10 minutes
DIY Recovery Strategies & Healthy Habits
1. Water (your vocal folds can get dry just like your mouth)
2. Rest (even 20-30 minutes of vocal rest in your day can help)
3. Avoid Yelling/Screaming
a. Concert? → lighter (or phone light)
b. Sporting event? → USE MORE COWBELL
4. Build Respiratory Support
a. Belly breathing, singing, blowing a feather across a table
5. Use Best Pitch
6. Vocal Warm-Ups (Funny but effective)
a. Use for a few minutes before you start your day or if you are going to have to speak louder or
longer than usual.
Helpful Resources
1. ASHA voice disorders
a. Symptoms, causes, treatment, resources
2. The Voice Foundation
a. Page 3 has some good vocal warm-ups
3. ASHA breathing exercises
a. Ignore the neurological slides
b. Exercises beneficial for anyone!
Teamwork & Support Systems
● Teachers need support just as much as students
● Encourage each other to practice healthy voice habits
● Ask for help if you need it!
You can all be great teachers...Let you voice
be heard!
References
Boone, D. R., McFarlane, S. C., Von Berg, S. L., & Zraick, R. I. (2019). The voice and voice therapy (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson
Education.

Duke Health (2018, March 6). Voice therapy helps teacher return to singing [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiI8lvupvvI

fyrTV (2016, October 16). I lose my voice!!! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsnEx7Zhrlo

Herrmann, D., Katz, R., Piliavsky, L., & Rice,, S. (2008). Efficacy of breathing exercises and relaxation techniques for patients with
neurological disorders [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.asha.org/Events/convention/handouts/2008/2216_Katz_Rachael/

Larynx diagram [image]. Retrieved from https://www.therespiratorysystem.com/larynx/

LinguaHealth (2012, December 5). Speech-language pathology: The vocal cords in action [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2okeYVclQo

McFarland Clinic (2013, August 20). Full procedure- FIberoptic laryngoscopy with Dr. Hermsen
References
Osborne Head & Neck Institution (2014, May 5). Laryngitis [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnfRCMhk-WY

San Francisco Otolaryngology (n.d.). Voice Questionnaire [PDF]. Retrieved from

http://www.sfotomed.com/webdocuments/questionnaire-voice.pdf

Steinhauer, K. (2017). The voice. The Voice Foundation, 22(2), p. 1-12

https://voicefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/2017_SpringVol22_Issue_2_Newsletter.pdf

TedXTalks (2017, February 2). What makes a good teacher great? Azul Terronez [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrU6YJle6Q4

The respiratory system [image]. Retrieved from

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/respiratory-system-labeled-228843244

Will Ferrell Santa GIF [Image]. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/filmeditor-will-ferrell-elf-l1AvyLF0Sdg6wSZZS/links