5 ways to protect your voice in winter weather

Most Chicagoans have at least adapted to the bone-chilling temps we get each holiday season. Your vocal chords, on the other hand, would much prefer hot and humid air to keep your voice in top health.

Short of moving to the Bahamas, otolarynologist Dr. H. Steven Sims, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, says there are simple steps you can take to keep your vocal chords in shape, despite Chicago’s harsh climate. The vocal chord doctor helps “voice professionals” — including Academy Award winner and native Chicagoan Jennifer Hudson — keep their instruments in impeccable condition.

Sims has tips that can go a long way in easing the strain the weather can put on the voices of everyday Chicagoans. Sims said many people don’t realize how often they use their voice in their profession.

“One of our largest groups of patients are teachers. Or, as we call them, the largest group of voice professionals who don’t know they’re voice professionals,” the affable doctor said with a laugh.

Jan Potter Reed, a licensed speech therapist who works with Sims at the Chicago Institute for Voice Care, agreed that teachers often suffer from phonotrauma.

“They’ve been slamming their vocal chords together too hard to talk,” Potter Reed said.

Here are five ways the average person can try to avoid vocal strain, especially in cold weather:

Many people don’t realize how often they use their voice in their profession.

1. Moisture is key to vocal chord health

Potter Reed said your vocal chords need to be moist to function properly, so any steps you can take to make the air you breathe a little more forgiving is a good idea. Staying hydrated will keep your entire body in better health and allow it to create more hyaluronic acid, which naturally lubricates the vocal chords.

The team suggests people use a humidifier at night because most people sleep with their mouth open. Those who want to take it a step further can purchase an ultrasonic nebulizer, which can be packed with saline bullets to release additional moisture into the air they breathe.

“The goal here is to keep warmth and humidity in the body,” Potter Reed said.

2. Perfume and cologne are irritants

Try though you may, it isn’t always possible to buy all gifts online during the holiday rush. And a department store visit may result in a bevy of pleasant-smelling irritants wafting your way.

“They may spritz you with cologne or ask you to smell a perfume sample when you’re walking through the mall,” Sims said.

Your vocal chords will close to try to protect the breathing tube and keep harsh irritants out.

“Any irritant or any swelling will show up in how they make the voice a little more froggy,” Potter Reed said.

3. Create a tropical island feel with your scarf

Sims said a lot of the ways to protect your vocal chords are things you likely learned in kindergarten: Wash your hands often, avoid people who are coughing and wear a hat, gloves and a scarf when exposed to the elements.

While wrapping a scarf around your nose and mouth may keep the cold off your skin, there’s another added benefit to this method.

“Wrapping your scarf around your mouth and nose helps you breathe in air that’s not quite as cold,” Sims said. “It retains a little humidity and is not so cold and not so dry.”

4. Cut out the carcinogens

Sims, who is a board-certified laryngologist and graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine, said the obvious dangers of smoking tobacco at any time of year become twofold in winter.

“The people who go outside for a smoke break are exposing themselves to both the cold weather and the cigarettes when they step outside in winter,” Sims said.

Those who smoke should make efforts to quit, or at least cut back on cigarettes when there’s a chill in the air.

5. Take extra precautions when you’re traveling

Part of the difficulty in treating touring musicians is not just the number of sets they’re singing, but their hectic schedules, which can compound troubles, Potter Reed said.

“Airplane air is dry and kind of a petri dish because they’re recycling the air. Hotel rooms are not conducive to good air, either,” Potter Reed said. “And of course touring in itself is exhausting.”

Portable humidifiers that use an upturned water bottle are a good solution for hotel rooms, she said. And well-timed breaks during travel can make a difference, she said.

The bottom line is that if someone is starting to feel and sound hoarse, they usually should give it some time before seeing a doctor, and try some at-home remedies.

“Given a little bit of time, say a week or two, it should be getting better,” Sims said.

Fair enough. But is it appropriate to ask your doctor to write a prescription for a two-week trip to the tropics?

“I usually tell my patients that as their doctor, I should probably go with them to supervise their care,” Sims joked.