Vocal Health in extreme weather
How to save your voice during hot, cold, dry, damp, smoky, smoggy weather in Southern California
Here in Southern California, we are in fire season, with exceptionally hot and dry weather. No wait, today it’s cold and damp. And tomorrow it will be dry and extremely windy and cold. It’s like being transplanted from climate to climate, without a scenary change. Everywhere I go during fire season, I hear sniffles, sneezes, wheezes, coughs, and rough, irritated, hoarse, voices, and in some cases extreme laryngitis.
I have had several students asking me about how to manage their vocal health during this extreme weather. Here is a list of my go-tos. Do a little research and make a plan for success to keep you vocally strong.
Dehydrated cords are unhappy cords, and I don’t want to scare you, but remember, dehydrated cords are at higher risk for vocal injury.
Santa Ana weather conditions lead
to dry, irritated vocal folds
Hydration:
There are different opinions about the exact right amount of water, but experts agree that drinking small amounts throughout the day is the way to go. For singers, I recommend drinking a glass of water immediately upon rising, then a minimum of 8-12 ounces every hour. If you are dancing, sweating and/or singing, increase that to a minimum of 12-16. If you can humidify your environment (see below) while singing, that’s even better!
Vocal nebulizer:
Use before and after singing, for 20 minutes each, if possible. If you are feeling dehydrated when you wake up in the morning, nebulize then too. Right before bed is a great way to nebulize as well. Any time you can give a little extra TLC when your folds are being bombarded with irritants is always a good strategy. Steamers are great for help with congestion, but a nebulizer is the only way to deliver what I like to call “emergency” hydration directly to the vocal folds themselves.
Here is the nebulizer, I use and recommend.
Xylitol nasal spray and nasal irrigation (netipot):
I’ve found that a xylitol based solution can be more gentle and soothing than the traditional saline only netipot. This is becoming more and more available. Here are a few of my favorite brands:
Cover your face:
Consider wearing a particulate filter face mask outdoors whenever possible, and indoors if there is inadequate filtration.
Many cloth masks by themselves don’t filter out anything but the largest particles. Add a particulate filter to your cloth face mask and your vocal folds will thank you. Or consider a KN95 or similar mask.
Portable, ultrasonic humidifier:
Sleep with it, and if you can get a travel one, you may even be able to humidify your practice environment.
Adjust your practice strategies:
Regardless of how much you baby your vocal folds, when it is extremely dry and there are toxins in the air from smoke and smog, your vocal folds will be irritated. To avoid further irritation, reduce your vocal load when you can. If you don’t need to sing full out at rehearsal, DON’T! When you are in the middle of a dust storm, that is probably not the best time to try to figure out how to add a rasp to your rock belt sound. Instead, think about focusing on building skills that don’t ask as much of your instrument: do some ear training, write some lyrics, memorize, practice mindfulness, practice breathing exercises, etc. etc. you get the picture.