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    Guidelines For Voice Rest

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    Colin Davey
    Voice rest is important after vocal fold surgery to allow the folds to properly heal. For the first 72 hours, do not talk or laugh and rest your voice completely. After 72 hours, speak softly and rest your voice frequently. After 2 weeks, talk at about 50% of normal and continue voice rest activities. A full recovery is generally seen after 6 weeks when normal vocal activities can resume.

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    Guidelines For Voice Rest

    Uploaded by

    Colin Davey
    48 views2 pages
    Voice rest is important after vocal fold surgery to allow the folds to properly heal. For the first 72 hours, do not talk or laugh and rest your voice completely. After 72 hours, speak softly and rest your voice frequently. After 2 weeks, talk at about 50% of normal and continue voice rest activities. A full recovery is generally seen after 6 weeks when normal vocal activities can resume.

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    Guidelines for vocal rest following TVF surgery

    Original Title

    Guidelines for Voice Rest

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    Voice rest is important after vocal fold surgery to allow the folds to properly heal. For the first 72 hours, do not talk or laugh and rest your voice completely. After 72 hours, speak softly and rest your voice frequently. After 2 weeks, talk at about 50% of normal and continue voice rest activities. A full recovery is generally seen after 6 weeks when normal vocal activities can resume.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    48 views2 pages

    Guidelines For Voice Rest

    Uploaded by

    Colin Davey
    Voice rest is important after vocal fold surgery to allow the folds to properly heal. For the first 72 hours, do not talk or laugh and rest your voice completely. After 72 hours, speak softly and rest your voice frequently. After 2 weeks, talk at about 50% of normal and continue voice rest activities. A full recovery is generally seen after 6 weeks when normal vocal activities can resume.

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    Guidelines for Voice Rest

    Voice rest is very important after vocal fold surgery. Your vocal folds will not
    heal properly if they are overused during this time. If you use your voice a lot
    at work we recommend you take two weeks off to give yourself time to rest
    and heal.

    Immediately after surgery (first 72 hours):

     Do not talk or whisper, laugh out loud, sing, cough or clear your throat. Use a
    notepad and a pen to communicate during this time.
     Drink plenty of fluids, avoiding caffeinated or alcoholic drinks which dry out your
    vocal folds.
     Do not smoke. Avoid smoky atmospheres.
     Do not answer the telephone; ask people to text or email instead.
     Avoid heavy lifting, pushing and pulling including gym and aerobic activity.
     Follow your reflux management guidelines as normal.
     After 48 hours use steam inhalations (especially if your throat feels dry). Breathe in
    the steam for 5 minutes 4-5 times a day. Use hot water rather than boiling to avoid
    scalding.
     Avoid playing wind or brass instruments (the blowing technique can result in forceful
    vocal fold contact).

    After 72 hours:

     Speak no louder than a soft conversational volume.


     Speak less often than usual and gradually increase the amount that you use your
    voice each day (initially about 10% of normal).
     Do not shout, clear your throat, cough unnecessarily, laugh loudly, whisper, raise
    your voice or sing.
     Try to avoid using the phone and if you do keep the conversation short.
     Try to have periods of voice rest between speaking.
     Keep drinking lots of fluid and inhaling steam twice a day.
     Continue following your reflux management guidelines.
     Take time to relax each day.

    If you have exercises from your voice therapist you can start practicing them again on day
    5 post surgery for 1 -2 minutes at a time.
    After 2 weeks:

     Talk about 50% of normal.


     Continue to avoid shouting, clearing your throat, coughing, whispering and laughing
    loudly.
     Continue to practice any exercises that your therapist has given you.
     If you are a singer you can now start to practice some gentle pitch glides - ask your
    voice therapist to suggest appropriate exercises.
     If you are a singer remember that your voice use is cumulative and the amount you
    use your voice overall includes your speaking and singing.
     Aim to schedule your voice use and vocal practice into several short sessions
    scattered throughout the day.

    After 3 weeks:

     Increase voice use to about 75% of normal.


     If you are a singer you can now start singing again within a comfortable volume and
    pitch range (you should not attempt to produce your performance sound quality at
    this stage).
     Continue to practice frequently in short regular sessions.
     Continue to follow your voice care advice.

    After 4 weeks:

     Return to normal vocal activities whilst taking care to avoid any of the vocal
    behaviours that may have contributed to your initial voice problem.
     If you are a singer it is a good idea to work with an appropriately trained singing
    teacher to help you with any compensatory mechanisms that you may have
    developed as a result of singing with a compromised larynx.

    After 6 weeks:

    You should now be feeling back to normal. Please do contact your voice therapist or ENT
    Consultant if you are continuing to experience problems. If you are a singer you should now
    be able to go back to performing.

    If you need further advice during this period please contact the Voice Team in the
    Speech and Language Therapy Department on 01752 432 202

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