Injuries are a normal and unpreventable part in the life of an athlete. One false move can ruin an entire season if they are unlucky, and there are even more tragic cases where an entire life is lost or altered. We expect this and offer sympathy to footballers, figure skaters, or gymnasts, but somehow when an injury happens to vocalists it’s viewed with suspicion. The blame game is in full effect. Critics are quick to point out the technical flaws that may have led to the demise. Yes, poor technique can lead to strain and injury but things are seldom that straightforward. The terrifying truth is that misuse is not the only reason injuries happen.
We expect a lot from our vocal cords. According to the Cleveland Clinic, those little folds of tissue are on average only 1.75 to 2.5 centimeters, and in them is the ability to communicate with loved ones or fill an entire opera house with sound. A violinist can replace their violin, a pianist his piano but a vocalist only has these two tiny cords. Our bodies literally are our instruments. If we are in pain, mental or physical, the voice will feel the effects of that and prevent us from performing to the highest level. A simple cough can result in a polyp. Opera singer Denyce Graves told NPR, “I sneezed. It was that simple. I sneezed and I hemorrhaged.” Vocal Coach Roger Love stated in the same article, “What people don’t seem to understand is that the voice — the vocal cords — are incredibly fragile.” If anything it’s amazing that more injuries don’t happen, or maybe they do, and we’ve just become very adept at hiding them.
No singer wants the stigma of vocal injury surrounding them and leading to loss of work and prestige among colleagues. In other sports, we publicly talk about recovery, therapy, and re-learning basic skills. Such a feat is something to be admired instead of being the dirty little secret that is whispered about in rehearsal rooms but rarely publicly acknowledged unless the star’s absence is too great to be ignored.
The stigma is especially held in the classical world given the long-lived notion that classical technique is superior. Broadway stars and pop singers are often viewed as “less than” although when you compare schedules the latter actually need to be on form much more often. NBC interviewed Dr. Steven Zeitels, Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School who estimated performing 75,000 voice operations. The article stated, “Most of the singers he has performed on have been opera singers, because of the substantial demands on their voice.” In my interview with Christine Murphy MM, MA, CCC-SLP a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist she shared, “I began my career as an SLP with a great deal of classical bias, assuming that musical theatre performers had poor technique, that they all needed to have classical voice training, and that belting was injurious to the voice. Considering that anywhere from 50-70% of my practice at any time is made up of musical theatre singers, it’s a good thing that I learned otherwise and confronted that bias. The demands simply aren’t the same between different styles of singing.”
Here is a (non-comprehensive) list of some famous singers who have allegedly experienced vocal injury:
- Julie Andrews (cyst, nodules)
- Michael Bublé (nodules)
- Adele (hemorrhage)
- Sam Smith (hemorrhage)
- Meghan Trainor (hemorrhage)
- Céline Dion (Patulous Eustachian tube)
- Natalie Dessay (nodules)
- Whitney Houston (nodules)
- Rolando Villazón (congenital cyst)
- Denyce Graves (hemorrhage)
- Russell Watson (polyp)
- Luciano Pavarotti (nodule)
- Freddie Mercury (nodules)
- Mariah Carey (nodules)
- Steve Tyler (unknown)
Among the list are notably opera singers at the top of their careers. The narrative surrounding Rolando Villazón has always been that he is a passionate performer who pushes himself too hard. “The burning performers have short careers. Cerebral performers have very long careers,” he told Opera News but was positive for the future saying, “I think I can be both! I have been mostly a burning performer, but it’s time for the cerebral performer to take over.”
Rod Stewart who lost his voice to cancer told Loose Women, “It was scary because I couldn’t sing a note. You know, they chop right through your throat all the muscles are torn apart and they’ve all got memories so they have to remember again.”
Not one but two famous Marias (Rodger and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music) were silenced. Julie Andrews was set to have a routine operation but it ended in a nightmare. In 2019, she told AARP The Magazine, “When I woke up from an operation to remove a cyst on my vocal cord, my singing voice was gone. I went into a depression. It felt like I’d lost my identity.”
Connie Fisher star of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sound of Music” revival was diagnosed with congenital sulcus vocalis in 2011. The condition caused holes in her vocal cords forcing her to end her West End run and has made continuing a career difficult. In 2011 she remained hopeful telling Wales Online, “There is hope in the future for my condition. It’s a condition that I was born with – it probably won’t change. Maybe a gel which is being developed over the next five years could help, who knows.”
Reading about Julie and Connie is truly heartbreaking for any singer to hear. Yes, there are lessons to be learned. Some theories I’ve heard point to the fact that Julie, a soprano, pushed her natural tessitura singing the music from “Victor, Victoria.” Maybe critics are right but also maybe if there wasn’t such a fear of seeking help, singers would be able to reach out when their conditions were far less serious and through therapy be given a second, third, or fourth chance to live their dreams.
Instead, most singers not only have to endure a vocal decline but a mental one as well.
The loss of vocal ability as a performer is absolutely devastating and can have long-lasting effects on confidence and ability to perform. Natalie Dessay is said to have not only sought vocal surgery but therapy “having decided her condition was as much psychological as physical” the Chicago Tribute reported. Rolando Villazón also worked with a sports therapist in his recovery.
In my personal experience, I’ve struggled with the singer’s nemesis GERD (acid reflux), a hemorrhage near my vocal cord, and vocal paresis due to a damaged nerve after covid. I’m someone that always pushes myself too hard during or after returning from sickness – I sang my entire senior recital with strep throat! It’s easy to condemn my stupidity, singers should guard their voices during sickness, we all know this. But how many can actually afford to do so? When performing or teaching is your only means of financial support, can you really blame someone who has no choice but to keep working in order to survive?
When your voice is your vocation (either performing or teaching) you are at a higher risk for injury. It’s an occupational hazard. So why are we pretending that vocal injury is something that happens to only “bad” singers and making an already painful experience so much worse?
Sure, let’s all drink lots of water, find a good teacher, and get plenty of rest. Listening to our voices is key. Good technique is one thing but each voice is unique. Some vocalists can smoke, and misuse their voices for years and still have function for their entire lives. For others, pushing the voice a couple of times or getting ill could mean the end of a professional career. We need to treat our voices as unique and notice our own patterns and limitations and respect them. What works for other musicians may not work for you and let’s not forget, you can do it ALL right and still have something go wrong.
The most freeing words my voice therapist told me when undergoing treatment for the covid related vocal paresis was “It’s not your fault. Nothing you did could have caused that.” Sure, not every time was like that. The hemorrhage I’m pretty sure came from pushing myself to sing during bronchitis and the resulting coughing that came when I should have been resting, but my therapist gave me a real gift and we should do that for others.
If someone you know is going through vocal trauma, listen, empathize, and be a shoulder to cry on. For goodness sake don’t ask about their technique or what repertoire they were singing! Trust me, every negative thought you are wondering about has already been spinning in their head for weeks. The last thing your friend/colleague needs is your thoughts on how to improve their voice – unless they specifically ask for it. Even then, deliver information in a kind way. A vocalist rarely purposely chooses to use their voice in a harmful way, but removing tension takes time.
If you are struggling with vocal injury, see a specialist as soon as you are able. Mentally I blocked myself from seeking help because of shame and fear. Therapy felt like a punishment but it was the greatest gift. If you are struggling with vocal injury, you are not alone. You deserve grace in this moment. I hope you are able to reach the other side as I was blessed enough to, and when you do I hope you will join me in changing the way we talk about vocal health.
If you are a singer and have never experienced this yet, I am truly happy for you and hope you never need to go through that but if you do know it’s part of being a vocal athlete. There is no need to be ashamed. Together we can create a safe space to support instead of blaming and tearing each other down during these vulnerable moments.
Sources:
- NBC News: Wu, T. (2012, March 2). What’s the lifespan of a singer’s voice? NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/health/whats-lifespan-singers-voice-1C6436797
- NPR: Greenfieldboyce, N. (2011, November 6). The Surgery That Saves Silenced Singers. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2011/11/06/142072775/the-surgery-that-saves-silenced-singers
- Cleveland Clinic: Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Vocal Cords. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24456-vocal-cords#:~:text=The%20average%20vocal%20cord%20length,These%20changes%20are%20irreversible
- Opera News: Toppman, L. (2013, July). Rolando’s Return. Opera News. Retrieved from https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/7/Features/Rolando_s_Return.html
- Smooth Radio: Smooth Radio. (2019, May 6). Rod Stewart talks about losing his voice after cancer. Retrieved from https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/rod-stewart/thyroid-cancer-lost-voice/#:~:text=Rod%20Stewart%20is%20bringing%20his,after%20he%20overcame%20thyroid%20cancer
- Classic FM: Pearmain, A. (2019, August 26). Julie Andrews on depression and losing her voice after operation. Classic FM. Retrieved from https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/julie-andrews-depression-losing-voice-operation/
- Wales Online: Wales Online. (2013, May 5). Connie Fisher: My vocal condition left me feeling hopeless. Retrieved from https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/connie-fisher-my-vocal-condition-4698611
- Chicago Tribune: Kozinn, A. (2004, January 18). Musical Surgeons Give Back Lost Voice. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-01-18-0401180423-story.html
- Interlude: Interlude. (2021, February 22). On This Day 22 February: Rolando Villazón Was Born. Retrieved from https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-february-rolando-villazon-was-born/#:~:text=In%202009%2C%20Villaz%C3%B3n%20underwent%20surgery,and%20concert%20stages%20in%20201
- Feinberg, A. (2015, March 19). How Julie Andrews’s voice was stolen by a medical disaster. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/19/how-julie-andrewss-voice-was-stolen-by-a-medical-disaster/
- Graham, M. (n.d.). Michael Buble & Nodules. Mark J. Graham. https://www.markjwgraham.co.uk/articles/tag/michael-buble-nodules
- Trust, G. (2015, July 8). Meghan Trainor Cancels Tour After Vocal Cord Hemorrhage. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/meghan-trainor-cancels-tour-vocal-cord-hemorrhage-6662972/
- Tencer, D. (2018, February 6). Vocal strain: Why Adele, Celine Dion, Shakira and Michael Bublé have all had surgery. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/vocal-strain-adele-celine-dion-shakira-michael-buble-1.4506016
- Gans, A. (2014, October 29). Soprano Natalie Dessay Has Vocal Cord Surgery. Playbill. https://www.playbill.com/article/soprano-natalie-dessay-has-vocal-cord-surgery
- Sing Like A Star. (2022, May 12). How Long Will Your Singing Voice Last? https://www.singlikeastar.com/how-long-will-your-singing-voice-last/
- Classic FM. (2018, June 6). Russell Watson: “I decided to live… or die”. https://www.classicfm.com/artists/russell-watson/guides/russell-watson-live-or-die/
- Biography.com Editors. (2021, March 22). The Great Pavarotti’s Nodule Quit Singing. Biography. https://www.biography.com/news/pavarotti-nodule-quit-singing
- Leonard, E. (2021, May 11). Celebrities who have had vocal injuries. People. https://people.com/music/celebrities-who-had-vocal-injuries/#:~:text=Freddie%20Mercury,the%20years%20as%20a%20result.
- Fox, M. (2011, March 9). What’s the lifespan of a singer’s voice? NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/whats-lifespan-singers-voice-1C6436797
