A Voice Apart

Do you experience any voice problems speaking or singing the word of The Lord? In a previous blog (titled “Calling All Pastors, Priests, Ministers, Bishops, Worship Leaders, Gospel Singers, Etc”), we have touched the topic of voice issues of those who religiously (no pun intended) worship God and Jesus, using their speaking and singing voices and, unfortunately, sometimes using their voices not always adequately and often excessively. But what about the church choirs and other religious (or non-religious) choirs for that matter? People who are singing in those choirs are usually very devoted to their causes, and thus performing their scores very diligently and with everything (so to speak) they’ve got…to the max! They are usually very animated, very energetic, and nevertheless, also using their voices to the max as well. The choir director/master always encourages the choir members to sing passionately and loudly, but not always paying attention to the technical as...

Lately, more and more phone calls and e-mails from various church leaders are pouring our way. Interestingly enough that those requests are primarily coming from the US. The US people seem to be very devoted to their church, religion and faith, which is definitely very commendable! Not only they are worshiping God and Jesus, but they are also very respectful and faithful to their leaders. We often get phone calls from somebody who inquires about voice repair on behalf of their Priest, Minister or Bishop, which is also very commendable, as those devoted people are really trying to help their peers. The bottom line, though, is such that the above aforementioned church leaders are constantly endangering their voices (speaking and singing).  They preach a lot and preach very loudly. A lot of them are using their singing voices and, unfortunately, using them totally incorrectly! So there comes a time that both of their speaking and singing voices end up being quite co...

You are experiencing voice problems: Sore throat, hard to swallow, burning vocal cords, difficulty speaking/singing, etc. “Should I ignore all of this and hope that my voice will come back on its own and will be as good as before or better?” “Should I agree for a surgical procedure?” “Should I try to find a “magic” pill, which will solve all my voice problems?” Should you continue suffering, or should you do something about it ?  I am sure that the first thought that usually comes to your mind is,  “let’s go to the doctor and find out what’s wrong with me”. Then you get a referral to the ENT specialist. And after that, "if you’re lucky", you may be diagnosed with something not so serious, and most likely, you would be offered some kind of a medical drug, which usually is designed to knock down your gastric acid, regardless weather you have it or not. If you are "not so lucky", you may not be diagnosed with anything at all, or ...

Once, I had a request from a serious voice problem sufferer who was residing in the UK.  He was a throat cancer survivor; and with all of the chemotherapy and radiation therapy, he ended up having both vocal cords damaged. One of his vocal cords was paralyzed and the other one was simply non-functional. He approached me with all kinds of questions and when his question came around the price of my nonsurgical voice repair services and treatment sessions , he exclaimed: “Oh my God, it is too much!” When I asked him what he would do with the same amount of money if he would not end up paying for my services? He said: “I would go on vacation…” Then I asked him if he would enjoy that vacation, being afraid to open his mouth and constantly be conscious on how he would be received and perceived by other people? On that note, I’ve heard the tears in his voice. He had obviously gotten my drift… so to speak. After this emotional moment, our deal had been finalized; and shortly aft...

We treat you and your voice above others! Your voice is sounding hoarse and raspy and your voice is almost lost …?  What should you do? Naturally, you would call your physician and ask for a referral to an ENT specialist. After waiting for a few months, you actually may get an appointment.  By that time, though, in the best scenario, your voice may get back to normal; but most likely, it will stay the same or it will get worse. It is much easier to treat any voice disorder at the beginning stages, so it is quite possible that the valuable time had been lost, and thus the non-surgical treatment may not be as successful as otherwise could be. On a personal note, I used to hire a private ENT just to clean my ears when needed. My ears are very important to me, as my super-sonic hearing (by the common opinion) allows me to hear the minutest details and changes in the human voice.  On this premise, I cannot allow just a regular nurse to attend to my ea...