The Tribune

By TANITH CAREY

As we get older, we tend to concentrate on how to fight grey hair, ward off wrinkles, and stay fit to feel youthful.

But we often forget to care for another big age giveaway – our voices.

Changes can start in midlife: the muscles controlling the voice box start to thin and become laxer and more wobbly.

This means that over time we can struggle to be heard in social situations, making us feel more isolated and more vulnerable to cold callers on the phone.

The good news is that just as we can build muscle with exercise, we can increase the strength in our voices to sound more youthful. 

Here one of the world’s top voice experts, Ear Nose and Throat surgeon, Declan Costello, also known as The Voice Doctor, tells you how.

How does your voice work?

 As you breathe out through your windpipe, the air passes through your voice box.

This is a ring of muscle which controls two flaps in the middle connected in V shape– called the vocal cords or vocal folds - which open and close like curtains and which also vibrate.

At the same time, the surrounding muscles also adjust the length and tension of these cords, adjusting the pitch.

Finally, the tongue, teeth and lips help refine this sound into noises we recognise as words.

Why does it age?

 As part of the ageing process, the rings of muscle surrounding the vocal folds become thinner, smaller and weaker.

The vocal folds themselves also become a bit laxer, a bit like stretched elastic, so they are not held as such high tension.

This can make them sound more tremulous.

 ‘To make a clear, crisp sound, the vocal cords have to come together and close so they can vibrate,’ says laryngologist Declan.

‘If they stop closing off completely, this means air can escape making the voice sound breathy and not as loud.’

So how can you keep it sounding younger? Drink more water – and less coffee

 To vibrate well and make a loud clear sound, the vocal cords need to be kept moist.

They are lubricated by a saliva-like fluid made by glands in the tissues around them.

So it helps to keep hydrated by sipping water regularly and drinking between six and eight glasses a day. 

‘Plenty of water will make sure the mucus you are making is nice and thin and lubricates the vocal folds well,’ says Declan. 

But don’t drink too much coffee, he warns. ‘Caffeine is a diuretic, which could end up making your vocal cords dryer.’ 

Cut back on the spicy foods

 You may love spicy foods, but did you know it can also make your voice croaky? 

The windpipe – or trachea – and the food pipe - or oesophagus – are separate tubes leading to the lungs and stomach.

But even a tiny drop of acid rising up close to the back of the throat is enough to make the voice box dry and irritated.

The classic signs of this ‘silent reflux’ are needing to clear your throat, feeling like you have a lump there and having a raspy voice in the morning.

If that’s a familiar feeling, says Declan, try cutting down on the types of food which might give you heartburn, like curries, onions, tomatoes and fizzy drinks.

Stay active

 Your lungs are like the bellows to your voice, as we need a steady stream of air to make the vocal folds vibrate well.

But if you don’t stay active, your lung capacity will fall over time. This is because without use, your diaphragm and intercostal muscles weaken, making it harder to produce enough breath to make a strong sound.

As well as doing regular aerobic exercises, like walking, swimming and cycling, look out for activities that improve your posture too, and allow you to breathe deeply, like tai chi, yoga and pilates.

Getting into good posture habits will help you fill your lungs better and project a bigger sound. 

Use it or lose it

 Staying chatty and keeping your voice well exercised will help keep it sounding young. 

Even if you live alone, Declan recommends giving it a daily workout by singing along to the radio or reading an article from the paper out loud.

He says: ‘As the years go by, everyone loses muscle tone and bulk but not just in your limbs.

‘When examining the vocal cords, we doctors can actually see the thinning of the muscle mass in the voice box of older people, resulting in a weak and breathy-sounding voice. 

‘Using your voice will actually help stave off the effects of age-related muscle weakness.’ 

Other ways to keep your vocal muscles toned is to join a choir – or if you don’t sing – join a book group.

Make sure you are chatting every day. For example you could swap online shopping for making your purchases in person, so you are always out and about talking to people.

If you have grandchildren, read aloud to them as often as possible.

Give up smoking too. These can inflame your vocal tissues and dry them out over time.

Sing in the shower

You don’t only sound better when you sing in the shower because of the echo chamber effect. 

Belting out your favourite tunes while you wash will also help keep your voice sounding more youthful

This is because the changes in pitch involved in singing are like vocal gymnastics which keep the muscles in your voice box strong and coordinated.

It’s for this reason that professional singers tend to have younger sounding speaking voices too. 

But that’s not the only reason it helps, says Declan, who explains that breathing in the steam is a good way to moisten the vocal folds and keep them working well. 

If you’re a woman, consider HRT

 Female sex hormones, like oestrogen, help make women’s voices sound younger by keeping the vocal folds well lubricated.

But this can change when levels start to fall during menopause, making them dryer and even lowering the pitch of your voice.

According to a study in the journal Menopause, (2004) 46 per cent of women notice changes after the change of life, including a deeper singing voice and more hoarseness.

According to Declan: ‘If it really starts to affect your voice and you are having other menopausal symptoms, then one option is to consider hormone replacement therapy.’

Get regular dental check-ups.

 Here’s one more good reason to keep up your visits to the dentist.

When you lose teeth, your jawbone starts to waste away, making your mouth collapse inwards.

This makes your oral cavity smaller, so there’s less space for the sounds to reverberate. It makes it harder to articulate words so your speech becomes less clear.

Try a voice lift

If you’ve tried building up your voice strength, but it still sounds weak there is another option – a surgical ‘voice lift’ which will make it richer and more vibrant again.

This involves injecting and plumping up the vocal cords with filler injected either down the throat or through the front of the neck.

This makes the two flaps thicker, closer together and vibrate better, producing a stronger voice.

But Declan adds that before you get to this point: ‘It’s far better to try to strengthen the voice with vocal exercises, under the supervision of a speech and language therapist.’ 

• For more support to keep your voice healthy, go to www.voicedoctor.co.uk

• Tanith Carey is an award-winning journalist, mental health professional and parenting and psychology author