Speaking up about vocal health

“The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear. But the human voice is different from other sounds. It can be heard over noises that bury everything else. Even when it's not shouting. Even when it's just a whisper. Even the lowest whisper can be heard over armies... when it's telling the truth.” --Zuwanie (actor Earl Cameron) in The Interpreter

I do believe there's something special about the human voice, and I've learned a lot about vocal health in the past month because my own voice has been sick. Early in July I was diagnosed with LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux). According to the Cleveland Clinic, LPR is "a condition in which acid that is made in the stomach travels up the esophagus (swallowing tube) and gets to the throat. Symptoms include sore throat and an irritated larynx (voice box). Treatments consist mostly of lifestyle changes.

That last sentence (the emphasis is mine) is interesting, because I got the impression from the doctor--an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist--that the antacid pills were the main thing that would help me get better. He handed me a small brochure that outlined things I should and shouldn't do, but something in his tone conveyed to me that he knew I wouldn't be taking his advice. The advice in the brochure included: avoid caffeine, soda, mints, and spicy foods; no food within 3 hours of bedtime; no tight clothing; no smoking. So it was mostly don'ts, not really any do's, although I read elsewhere that eating smaller, more frequent meals and raising the head of my bed would also help ease my symptoms.

Anyway, long story short, I believe I have had this problem for a long time. Back in Jamaica I blamed it on second hand cigarette smoke. I did go to see an ENT doc there, but he never suggested I might have a reflux problem and he didn't do any of the tests I've read about to confirm or rule out LPR. My main symptom was and is a constantly sore throat, but I also recognize now that I was having trouble swallowing. I realize this because now that I'm getting better (I think I am getting better, my throat does feel less sore), I can swallow liquids more easily. My voice also feels stronger, and I have more energy.

I looked up data on LPR online (at some reputable websites, such as the (U.S.) National Library of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov/). The estimates vary widely (studies say that 5 to 30% of adults in the U.S. suffer from some degree of acid reflux). Strangely, some researchers feel LPR is under-diagnosed and others feel it is over-diagnosed. I suspect there may be regional differences in diagnosis and treatment. I do know that a significant number of friends on social media reported having this problem (or worse, GERD--Gastroesophageal reflux disease--which I think is what happens when LPR goes undiagnosed and untreated.)

It seems to me a huge disservice that the medical community in general--and those who work in ENT medicine in particular--are not doing more to promote the lifestyle changes that (it seems to me) would certainly prevent, say, 1 in 10 Americans from suffering the debilitating effects of this condition. I say 1 in 10 because probably 1 in 5 of us (20%) do have some degree of reflux going on, but let's say that half of us who do either refuse to change our habits, or try and fail.

Am I being too hard on medical professionals? Have they done their best but become disillusioned because their patients just won't take their advice?

As I write this, I am swallowing my first of two antacid pills for today. I've been trying really hard to stick to the great advice I've gotten from several sources. That said, I can't help but recall the adage, found in the Christian scriptures, that "What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them." (Jesus, quoted in Matthew 15, verse 11)

So I go back to the quote at the beginning, from The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. It says even the lowest whisper can be heard when it is telling the truth. So I will try to speak my truth, and I hope you will speak yours too. I will share this with my ENT doc when I go for my follow-up visit next month.

And, for my workshop this birthday-month, the theme will be songs about the truth, and the power of the human voice. You're invited to join me and my healing voice on Saturday, 23 July at 1 pm Eastern. Registration required: bit.ly/GOAW-ND.