On 07/08/2015 I went for my pre-surgery speech therapy consultation. I was rather excited as I was going to Harley Street and I felt like some kind of celebrity. The speech therapist I had chosen to see is very well-established and has been recommended to me by various singing teachers and colleagues. I had also seen them on a recent BBC Documentary discussing vocal health, so I knew I was in good hands.*
For some reason, the world was against me and hayfever decided to hit me that day. I never get hayfever so I have no idea as to why it had happened today. Half of my face was absolutely streaming, I looked a mess! Ah well, I thought, the SLT won't care - and they didn't.
The first part of the session was mainly 'getting to know you'. I was asked about my singing background/experience, vocal health history, range, diet, alcohol (!), smoking etc. Then the therapist had a good feel of my larynx and then we did some 'Acoustic Voice Analysis' exercises. Before all of this I was told that my voice sounded extremely clear and normal (typical), yet after these exercises I was told different. I held on an 'Ah vowel' for 9 seconds, a voiced sound for 16 and an unvoiced 'ss' for 30. This confirmed that there was without a doubt something getting in the way of my cords as too much air was being let out. I'm glad everybody was on the same page, yet the SLT thought it was maybe a cyst rather than a polyp. I cannot wait till I get a definite answer, I tell you.
I was advised to take 7 days complete vocal rest, post-op. After this I would have my first vocal rehab session, then one week of speaking for 5 minutes an hour, one week of ten minutes and hour and then 15 minutes an hour in the 4th week. After this I can begin singing lessons again. She also said I need to stop drinking Lager, and should switch to Gin and Tonics or red wine. No problem! No fried foods, no caffeine, lots of steaming and lots of water. All of this is fine... If I'm going to do this - I'm going to do it properly.
*I am not going to mention any names in this blog but if anybody would like to know the names of the consultants and speech therapists I mention, please do not hesitate to private message me.
Hello lovely Mezzo Girl - I cant work out how to pm you - but your words have been so helpful to my husband how is due to have surgery on Friday afternoon - the frighteners are on that's for sure .. two points of interest .. we have heard nothing about steaming .. can you discuss further and also as he is coming into town from Suffolk (he works in Mayfair in the week) perhaps we can get a swift appointment in with the speech therapist - kindly drop me a line to Julia.ewart@btinternet.com - all lower case. thanks a million - your words are invaluable.
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