Does anyone else have a frequent need to clear their throat before talking?
Hi, Jennifer, the "urge" to clear your throat is not uncommon, but hopefully you will resist the urge, and instead substitute the "habit" of throat clearing with a less harmful behavior. Some good substitutions for throat clearing include: water sips or ice chips to hydrate the tissue, a hard swallow of saliva, or a silent huff of air as if you were making a "huh" without voice.
Throat clearing often gets paired with the onset of end of speaking, so that may also be something for you to monitor. The good news, is that, the habit of throat clearing can be extinguished fairly quickly just by noticing, resisting the urge, and substituting with a better behavior if you feel mucus or phlegm in your throat.
Thank you Mary, I purchased the breather and voice amplifier as I've been dealing with muscle tension dysphonia for ten plus years now and am an elementary school teacher. Please let me know if there's any other suggestions you have to help me too, has been depressing to deal with. Amazingly, it doesn't impact me speaking with children as much, just with adults, so probably a lot is anxiety. I regularly practice yoga too, and did your aerobic video last night
I'm sorry that you have been dealing with a voice problem for so long, Jenn. Are you sure that you have been properly diagnosed? It is unusual for a MTD to linger for so long, and sometimes is confused with spasmodic dysphonia. Have you seen a speech pathologist experienced with voice disorders? It sounds as if you are doing healthy things for your body and voice. Focusing on breathing can help, shifting effort when trying to generate volume to the breathing muscles rather than the throat. The main advice I give voice patients is to not try to analyze what you are doing, but rather, "notice." In particular, notice those times when your breathing and voice are relaxed and the quality more normal. Best of luck to you.