What are the Signs? What do I DO with them?
Here is Part 2 of this series.
I have had many of you reach out, asking questions and giving support. I have also heard from those of you who deal with PCOS, who are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, thinking about IVF, and those of you who are transgender singers and taking hormones.
This series could continue indefinitely!!!! I will do my best. Just know, as an overview, YES hormones (and lack thereof, or change of levels) can and do change the voice.
I want to continue the focus on the peri through post demographic right now, but will keep exploring with you!
So what are the signs?
Yes, you can get your hormone panel blood work done. Yes, your periods may become wonky for you. Yes, you can start missing and stopping your period. Yes, there could be hot flashes, trouble sleeping, weight gain and difficulty releasing it, vaginal dryness, dry hair, hair loss, bone loss, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, moodiness, adult acne…ugh. I know. A delight, right?
But, what about your voice? What could you be experiencing? Mucosa changes with hormonal changes for any of us, but especially in peri through post. It may start with some hoarseness, clearing the throat more, coughing out of nowhere, especially when you wake up. It can also happen “out of nowhere”.
Often, the speaking voice can deepen and yet lose vibrancy. The same can happen in the singing voice.
A raspy-ness can occur. Vocal range can shorten - primarily in the upper registration. Vocal fatigue begins to happen regularly. Vocal intensity loses lustre. Vibrato can widen and feel unruly. Pitch centers can get uneven. There can be throat dryness even if you are hydrated.
The decrease of estrogen causes the lack of collagen production and muscle mass throughout the body, including the larynx. The cartilage of the larynx thickens and gets heavier; the muscles get weaker; the elasticity doesn’t have the flexibility it used to. Stiffening and thickening happen.
SO NOW WHAT?!?!?!?!?
Exhale. This isn’t the end of the story!!
Talk with your doctor about HRT. Hormone Replacement Therapy is personal. This will be up to you and your doctor. Getting your hormones balanced as you move through this incredibly powerful time of your life is CRUCIAL. As yes, even though I have outlined much of the so-called negative stuff, it IS a powerful and empowering time of life.
The other thing is KEEP SINGING!!!! Your technique is a physical behavior and what that technique needs to do now is continue to explore the PHYSICALITY of the voice. Working with a teacher who recognizes the functional development through hormonal change is so important. it is CRUCIAL. If there are gaps in the technique, it might become more apparent now. That’s okay. You can work on it, develop it, and close those gaps.
IT IS NOT OVER DAMMIT.
Developing a regime of vocal “massage” to create more supple release to the mechanism is key. Yes, this can be literal hands on massage, but it can also be internal vibration massage!
Liken it to what you need to do at the gym now. How do you stretch? How do you lift? What are working toward? Why?
Developing a functional regime of supple elasticity will allow you to rediscover the freedom for the mechanism to stretch with you, not tighten and lock.
Developing ease of voice through flexibility of the mechanism will allow consistency in registration shifts, vocal weight, legato, balance of resonance, balance of vibrato.
Developing agility through this flexibility and supple elasticity will inform the legato energy so the fatigue lifts and the buoyancy returns.
If you have established a solid technique through your singing life, you will discover these specifics more comfortably than you imagine.
If your technique hasn’t been as solid, it doesn’t mean you are done! Not by a long shot!! You can discover what that mechanism is doing now and how you can create MORE and be stronger than ever.
THAT is empowering.
Know you can be even better than before. Know you can be more empowered than ever.
A strong working relationship with your doctor/doctors and with your teacher/teachers who understand what is going on and lift you up, is crucial. If you are feeling any kind of dismissal from any direction, it is time to find another doctor and/or another teacher.
It’s not too late.
It’s not a lost cause.
It’s not a fated result.
You are in charge of your destiny. You can learn to work with your instrument at EVERY step of hormonal change. Your life experience is in that voice and in that body. Claim it, honor it and NEVER make excuses for it. You are doing NOTHING wrong. There is nothing wrong with you. You are moving through a time of empowerment and change can be uncomfortable, and frustrating sometimes.
But guess what? Phoenix, ashes. That’s you. Come out of that hot flash and stand in your power!
Embrace it. Lock eyes with it. Stare it down and let it know who is boss.
More to come!
with fondness & fierceness,
p.s. Here’s some reading that will give you some other women’s stories and experiences!
