Muscle Tension Dysphonia: What is it?
In 1998, I was entering my 10th year as a professional singer, traveling through the southeastern United States and doing about 120 dates a year. I had just released a new CD titled NEW WORLD COMING, and was enjoying a well-deserved and well-earned boost in my music career and ministry. Then came The Night.
I was wrapping up a gig at Morningside Baptist Church in Columbus GA, the set had gone well and I was on my last song. Working in Christian music, I believed at the time that the best way to end a show was with a really strong high note, which usually got the crowd on their feet (and it felt pretty good, too). That night, the song in question was “I Am Determined” by Tim Sheppard. I headed for the home stretch, went upstairs to find the note … and lost it. My voice cracked, effectively neutralizing the moment.
Inside I died, but the crowd continued to respond well and I attributed it to exhaustion from several days of performances. I kept going and didn’t think much about it until the next concert, when it happened again, and the next, and the next, and the next. Before long, my voice had disintegrated to the point where I couldn’t sing more than a phrase or two without my voice breaking, which made me sound like Peter in THE BRADY BUNCH when his voice started to change. I couldn’t sing more than a whisper; Any attempt to put any force behind the notes only resulted in disaster. After struggling with this condition for a few months, I made the decision to go off the road until I could handle things.
It took trips to several doctors and finally a visit to the Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville to determine what was wrong. I found out that he suffered from a condition known as muscle tension dysphonia, a condition in which the muscles around the vocal cords are too tight when speaking or singing, preventing the larynx from working effectively. The affected person may end up with too much tension when speaking, resulting in a strained or strained voice.
With singers, it results in the inability to maintain proper breath control or project properly. As a result of the stress, all the other physical devices necessary to make the voice work do not work in unison. The end result is a tone that is not at all pleasant.
Common symptoms of MTD are a hoarse, deep, or harsh vocal tone, a voice that is weak, airy or whispery, strained, tight, or strained. The voice can also tend to sag after prolonged use, as well as vary in pitch and key.
The affected person may also experience pain or tension in the throat when speaking or singing, as well as tenderness in the region of the vocal cords.
There is no known cure for MTD, except for physical therapy designed to exercise the voice without putting undue pressure on it. The idea is to train the muscles of the throat, larynx, neck and face to relax, remember what they are supposed to do, and function as a unit again.
For me, my journey with MTD was a long one … three years off the road and in therapy, and all the while wondering if I would ever sing again. My doctors advised me to keep practicing and not to worry about how it sounded, but to keep practicing singing every day. The idea was that eventually my voice would “remember” what it was supposed to do, and that all the right gadgets would start working together again to produce the desired result.
It took time, but I finally started singing in my church choir again, and some time later I started soloing again. Shortly after a year I was back on the road and started singing full time again. Some residual problems remained, the stress of the previous three years left me with a slightly diminished vocal range, but overall, I have been good as new.
Muscle tension dysphonia can be a frustrating and scary problem. He’s not expecting it, and when he hits it, he’s sure his voice will never be the same again. But it may be that, with proper rest, exercise, and therapy, you will be able to speak or sing again soon.
