need help! wondering if my voice is damaged..

[darkclaw3000]

ok around the 3rd week of august i was having coughs, almost had a fever but i manage to recover, but the cough remains. i continued coughing for a week or so, n this one time it was bad (just woke up n cough like crazy), went to the bathroom n vomited out blood. ( i think it was blood coz its looks really red.. )

that was like a few weeks ago? (seriously i've lost the time frame here... ) after that i thought my voice was back so i resume singing ( during the coughing n before i wasnt singing much at all).

when i resume singing i realized that my usual voice, or my usual way of singing, maybe the technique or approach, is all gone, or very different.

e.g, theres a certain way that when i sing the higher notes, i can activate this rasp. now i can't. if i try to do it, it sounds completely different n horrible.

i began doing some light scales, some vocal exercises, it SEEMS fine. no breathiness, no rasp or hoarseness.. that i know of. (to me! i dont know for sure!!).

but when i sing its all different feeling.

how i got really sure my voice is different is by singing the songs i usually sing. all sounded different. although i can reach the pitch n notes, the way it was done was different.

last monday i went to jam practice, usually i can hold out for 2 hours, now after about an hour i was struggling.

i do not know whats really happening here. some say i havent really healed yet. i read some articles, maybe its dehydration. another i read, i may have some kinda problem on my vocal folds.

so, experts out there, those who are reading this (i thank u deeply from the bottom of my heart), how do i check if my voice is ok or not?

does it help if i record me doing a scale n u listen to it? (pls state the scale)

i'm startin to panic actually.. i dont want to go to an ENT specialist YET. its expensive.. =(.. hope i get some answers here........

thank u thank u thank u!!!

J

[Adolph Namlik]

If you're vomiting blood, you REALLY should see a doctor ! You don't necessarily need to see an ENT, but at least visit your primary doctor.....

[darkclaw3000]

0_0........ :'(

now i'm really stressed out about this.

it was only once, n i really think its due to lack of hydration, n i like to eat heaty/spicy foods..

coz im sure i didnt sing at all before that happens..

:(

[Adolph Namlik]

darkclaw,

My apologies for getting you stressed, BUT, vomiting blood can be a serious issue. Granted, it was only one time that this has happened to you, but if it were myself, I'd certainly get checked out by a doctor, spicy foods or not.

See, I too like spicy foods from time to time, but have never vomited blood....

I'm certainly not a doctor, but it's in my nature to care for the health of others !!!

Hope this is ONLY a one time "event" for you !!!

Regards,

Adolph

[darkclaw3000]

thank u so much for the concern! yeah i think you're right. i better get it checked soon..

but in any case, are there any other ways to check if my voice is alright?

[Adolph Namlik]

AWESOME ! That's good to hear that you are getting a check-up...

As far as your voice is concerned, post a clip in one of the other sections of the forum >>>

"Review and Critique My Singing", "Vocal Technique", or Vocal Science".

Our experts and members are the BEST and would be willing to assist you.

Wishing you the very best,

Adolph

[Joanna]

The best way to check if your voice is alright is to see a voice doctor --true specialist--who can look at your vocal cords. Best referral list in USA is here:

http://www.gbmc.org/home_voicecenter.cfm?id=1551

My guess would be that your coughing bruised some blood vessels in the vocal folds. Vocal fold hemorrhages are not permanent damage, but continuing to sing hard -- or even talk a lot--while you're in the midst of this is a bad idea, could lead to permanent scarring or other problems. Think of Miles Davis.

This is an acute injury and you need to take it seriously. If money is a problem, call the voice clinic nearest you & find out about cash rates, charity care, whatever. Blood will get their attention.

best wishes -- Joanna

[Adolph Namlik]

Thank you, Joanna :)

[ronws]

Dark, you have your answer, from people with personal and professional experience in medical matters, especially ones dealing with pain and blood.

So, quit asking them more questions about "testing" your voice and hoping for a magic pill from us armchair experts and go to a doctor.

Right now.

[darkclaw3000]

ronws - SIR YES SIR!!!!!!!

THANK YOU GUYS! will update on how i'm doing!!!!!!

[ronws]

We really do care about you, Dark. Good luck and get well.

[darkclaw3000]

MY VOICE IS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ITS FINE ITS FINE ITS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!

it was just my bad technique hohoho, i should be sad that my technique sucks but MY VOICE IS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

:D:D:D:D:lol::lol::lol:

[Adolph Namlik]

AWESOME !!!!!

:cool::cool::cool:

[Guest]

I hope you're only typing that and not screaming it!! :D

[darkclaw3000]

i'm screaming with my fingers!!! now i feel like posting a cover!!!!!

[Adolph Namlik]

dark,

Have you ever considered posting a video on the (Main) "Social Homepage" ?

[darkclaw3000]

no actually.. should I? hahaha. what's it about?

[Adolph Namlik]

dark,

First, I have no idea if you have joined the TMV World (Main) Social Media site simply by looking at your username here on the Forum, so I've sent you an invitation...

If you're already a member, that's fantastic ! If not, it doesn't take long to create an account (profile page).

Simply upload a video and you never know --- You just may be selected to be Featured or Spotlighted. :cool:

Note : A Spotlight video must be live onstage, in the studio, or you may use a backing track. (No slideshows with background music, "still" photos, etc. with background music, etc.) We need to see you in "Action"

Check out the current Featured and Spotlight video(s) :

You can also check out previous videos by clicking on >> "View All" under the Featured videos.

Likewise, you can see the previous Spotlight videos by clicking on my article >>

"THE MODERN VOCALIST SPOTLIGHT VIDEOS"

Both are located on the "Social Homepage".

Hope to see you there !!!

Edit: Just listened to your cover of "She's Gone"..... By all means, UPLOAD IT !!! :cool:

Regards,

Adolph

[darkclaw3000]

oh haha ok. will do.. =P. kinda shy about it.. hahahha

[ronws]

Hey, Dark, glad to hear the good news. Seriously.

Technique is something that can be fixed or altered. So, after you have rested and recovered (maybe you have, already) you can work on things that work with your voice.

It was a harsh lesson for me. To learn that the voice is not plug and play. And that while some may give words to concepts, they don't always translate into something that can be done. I've talked about it before, so let me talk about it again, even if someone else comes along and tells me that my understanding of anatomy is incomplete. And it is incomplete. For example, in all this talk about building muscles around the larynx, of which I think there are 2 dozen, no one is able to name which muscles, how they are strengthened, and to what degree. But, leave that rest for a moment.

When I first got here, already I had been singing full voice tenor range since 1988. But I never think I know everything and I think I can learn something new. And have been learning since I joined here in May of 2010. And not just learning about technique, but learning about myself (equally as important.) When I arrived, a number of the members were trying to sound like Brian Johnson. And much was talked about false vocal fold distortion.

Not understanding anatomy, I tried to "activate" fvf distortion. And ended up straining and spraining the finer control muscles. I gave myself partial laryngitis. Twice. Because I thought I did the fvf distortion thing wrong, the first time. Well, as I have learned for myself, I was doing wrong twice because I was doing something my voice won't do, twice. Each time, it took an average of two weeks to recover. Two weeks of no singing and minimal volume speaking, not easy when working on a construction site.

After the second time, it was at least a week before I dared to make any kind of singing sound. And what I did was falsetto descending sirens with not much volume. Basically, I returned to some of the classical techniques I had learned in 1988. And my voice came back to me. But I had scared the pee out of myself, until then. And breathed a sigh of relief.

For I had learned, after studying some anatomy, and I am not an expert, as our own Steven Fraser can attest to, the "false vocal fold" is really a misnomer. According to what I have read, it is merely a bump (unless enlarged by disease or genetic defect) that sits above the true folds and it's express purpose is that it is a mucus membrane that releases mucus to hydrate the true vocal folds, locally. That, in addition to systemic hydration (water volume in the blood) provides moisture to keep the true folds viable. That fvf, according to the scientific sources I have read has absolutely no part in phonation.

When you swallow, the larynx rises up, "squashing" the membrane known as the fvf, and is covered over by the epiglottis, a flap controlled by a sphincter that covers all of this to prevent water and food intrusion while swallowing. So, basically, I was trying to sing while swallowing and choked my voice. Literally. For there is no actual muscular control of the fvf. There is no muscle to train or coordination that brings the fvf into the air stream to provide a rattle distortion. At least, not as far as I can see.

If you have heard my songs where you can hear rattle, that is actually coming from a vibration of my uvula against the back of my tongue. Way above and away from true folds.

And I should break this up into another post.

[ronws]

The other big thing in the developement of my voice is to accept what it does. And will not do. And I kind of have Steven to thank for that, too. In one song I had submitted quite some time ago, he noticed a lack of ring and power in what I thought were baritonic notes. And he was absolutely right. And so I listened carefully to how I sound.

And reached back into expectations of myself. Men that I grew up with and even fellow school mates had baritone voices. Some of them, quite low. Most of them had a voice crack in adolescence. My voice never cracked. As a teenager, I sounded like a woman. In fact, others, when making fun of me by mimicking me, would raise their voice an octave in falsetto for them to repeat something I said. But I always expected that my voice would eventually drop and sound more like a "man."

It never did. So, I have realized that I was never, am not, and will never be a baritone. And that is huge. For, after giving that up, I realized that I was detuning my voice, even subconsciously. Accepting that I am a tenor and accepting the limits of my 3 octave range (nominally C3 to C6) has freed me up and I have made that 3 octaves more fluid and agile than before. I am singing with more ease than I did before.

So, please keep that in mind as you re-visit what you need in technical study. What is it that your voice can do in a healthy way?

I know others are going to disagree with me and that's fine. But, in my redneck opinion, singing should get easier with training, not harder. If you are straining and in pain, more than likely, you are doing damage. Maybe irreparable damage.

[jimicorbet]

The other big thing in the developement of my voice is to accept what it does. And will not do. And I kind of have Steven to thank for that, too. In one song I had submitted quite some time ago, he noticed a lack of ring and power in what I thought were baritonic notes. And he was absolutely right. And so I listened carefully to how I sound.