We all know someone who can sang, but it’s their vocal health that’s really important.
BlackDoctor.org spoke with Ashaala Shannae, an International Singer/Songwriter, Celebrity Vocal Health Pedagogist and CEO of The Music & Arts Healing Institute in Miami, FL, to talk vocal health and why you must maintain your vocal health if you want to have a successful career in the entertainment industry.
“Vocal health is vocal wealth, and the more people have vocal health issues, the more it is affecting what they do in their career. There’s a direct correlation between vocal health and the entertainment industry,” says Ashaala. “Right now, we’re finding that a lot of media personalities, radio personalities, recording artists and a lot of people who utilize their vocal folds (also known as vocal chords) for career advancement are having severe poor vocal health problems because of just poor choices and how to utilize their vocal folds.”
Common Vocal Health Issues
“We’ve seen so many artists having problems and it doesn’t matter what genre they’re in. What we’re finding is that a lot of artists are having issues with vocal hemorrhages,” explains Ashaala. “A vocal hemorrhage is when you overuse the voice by straining excessively or making other poor choices. As a result, a blood vessel forms on the vocal fold and can pop. When it pops, blood can go into the trachea and cause the vocal folds to deflate.”
You May Also Like
“Another vocal health issue is a nodule. A vocal nodule can develop just from yelling and a polyp can develop because of smoking. A lot of these things occur with recording artists that use alcohol or smoke narcotics or illegal drugs. Most artists will not let their fanbase or their team members who represent them know that they’re having vocal health issues because that affects touring, shows and recordings.”
“Also, in my office I see a lot of vocal nodules caused by acid reflux. Most of the time, people aren’t watching what they’re eating and they’re drinking lots of soda and water with high acid levels. Artists consume so many things while they’re touring, traveling or even in their green room, and eventually these things bring about vocal nodules. If you don’t know how to take care of vocal nodules, depending on what it is, then you would have to get surgery, which can take up to a year for recovery time. Most people don’t have that time to recover, especially when they are under a rigorous schedule with a record label with their team or whomever is managing them in the industry.”
Preventative Methods
“Anyone using their vocal folds for career advancement needs to see an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor. It’s not for surgery purposes, but to see if the doctor can get a screenshot of your vocal folds and see what’s happening there. Most people don’t know this, but your vocal folds have no nerve ending and because there’s no nerve ending, a lot of times people ignore signs of hoarseness. When you ignore signs of hoarseness, after a while you can develop soft nodules on your vocal folds and most people are not even aware of it.”
Another preventative method that Ashaala recommends is getting a pH test done. “You can get one from Walmart or your local pharmacy and find out what your acid levels are. The stomach itself has a pH level of 3.5 which is super acidic because it helps with the breakdown of food. The average person has a blood pH of 7.4, so anything 4.6 and under is super acidic. Drink more alkaline-based water. Until you know what your PH level is, limit your intake of citrus fruits. A lot of singers put lemon in their water, but it adds insult to injury because they really don’t know what their pH balance is.”
You May Also Like
She also recommends keeping your stress levels down. “Stress directly affects your vocal folds and people don’t even correlate that. Also, make sure you get adequate amounts of sleep and hydration. Vocal dehydration is another big issue we find in a lot of singers.”
“Vocal health issues are not an indicator of a how well a person can sing or how talented they are. It really is about having sustainability throughout your career and making sure you maintain what you have so you can have longevity.”
Debunking Popular Myths
“People will say when you have a sore throat, you should gargle with lemon water. And yes, lemon has great qualities to it however my question is, would you put lemon in an open wound? One of the easiest remedies for inflammation is purified water and baking soda,” explains the vocal health expert.
“Another myth for people with sore throat is to they gargle with apple cider vinegar. ACV has an acidic property to it which is very brash on inflated vocal folds, so you want to do something that’s not so harsh on the vocal folds. A lot of times people will go to chloraseptic sprays to numb their vocal folds and it gives a false sense of healing. If you cannot pronounce what’s in the spray, do not put it on your vocal folds. It takes an average of 3-5 days of rest for your vocals folds to come down from inflammation, so there’s no quick fix from bringing inflammation down from the vocal folds. You can take Halls and menthols, but they’re only soothing properties. The one real healing property is rest and hydration. Use purified water, baking soda and peppermint oil as a natural throat spray.”
Most people believe a cup of tea is a great solution for vocal issues, but here’s what you need to consider: “About 90 -95% of teabags are coated in chemicals,” explains Ashaala. “Teabags are counterproductive in helping the vocal folds and are very dehydrating. I recommend people take the loose leaves out of the teabags and put them in a diffuser. Also, make sure the teas aren’t caffeinated because caffeine dries out the vocal folds as well.”
For more information, visit The Music & Arts Healing Institute at www.themahi.com. Also, follow Ashaala Shannae on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ashaalashannae.
