World Voice Day: Awareness is needed to keep the voice healthy
Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed
Today Tuesday is World Voice Day 2024. The day is celebrated on 16th April every year. Voice Day was first celebrated in Brazil in 1999 and worldwide since 2002. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness among people about the use of voice, care, treatment of diseases etc.
It would be a mistake to think of the voice as the only means of communication. The tone of voice is much more important than the words we use in conveying the meaning of a sentence. 38 percent of the impact of your speech depends on the tone of your voice. And so a good voice is very important for daily social or workplace conversations. Voice is everything for professional voice users. By professional voice users we mean those whose voice is the main or important controller for their profession. Such as singers, actors, teachers, lawyers, commentators, salesmen, call center workers etc.
29% of people in America suffer from voice problems at some point in their lives, and the cost of lost performance is about two billion dollars. Bangladeshi 200 million taka, every 13 people suffer from this problem every year. This problem is more common in older people than women and in children boys. According to a survey of professional voice users in America, 11% of teachers suffer from voice problems. For occupations other than teaching, the rate is 6.2%. 20% of teachers and 4% of other professionals lost their jobs due to voice problems. Other surveys show that 46.09% of vocalists, 45% of call center workers suffer from voice problems at work.
> What causes the problem : Laryngitis :
This inflammation is bilateral. For example, acute and chronic laryngitis. Laryngitis can also be caused by viruses, weather changes, environmental pollution. If bacteria cause throat infection and difficulty breathing, then treatment is needed. Stomach acid reflux can cause chronic inflammation of the esophagus. Smoking, drinking too much tea or drinks, using inhalers for asthma or people with weakened immune systems can cause laryngitis in the long term.
* Overuse of voice: As the voice breaks due to excessive shouting, many people are also seen to suffer from this problem during the change of season. A change in temperature can lead to hoarseness as a symptom of inflammation of the larynx or tonsils. In these cases, the patient recovers within a week.
But in some cases, the patient suffers from the problem of voice breaking for a long time:
People who put a lot of stress on their voice (such as singers, reciters, children's teachers) may develop small lumps (nodules) on the vocal cords (vocal cords). In this case, the tone remains abnormal for a long time.
* Thyroid hormone deficiency.
* Lung or respiratory tract cancer.
* Use of steroid inhalers may cause tone breakdown.
> Associated symptoms
Seasonal causes include sore throat, fever, cough and runny nose.
Deficiency of thyroid hormone causes problems such as weight gain, cold intolerance, weakness, depression, abnormal slowness in thinking and working, hair fall.
Lung or respiratory tract cancer can cause weight loss, chest pain, or shortness of breath.
> Some techniques in voice care:-
1. First of all awareness is needed. Many people do not know how important a healthy and beautiful voice is for their profession.
2. You have to listen to your own voice, so that any problem can be predicted quickly. If the problem lasts more than three weeks, an ear, nose and throat specialist should be consulted.
3. Hydration is essential for vocal health, so drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
4. Be careful with your voice. Do not speak in a high-pitched or altered tone.
5. Avoid smoking, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other addictions completely.
6. Finish eating at least two hours before bedtime and eat small meals.
7. Avoid excessive telephone use.
8. Avoid repeated throat clearing/coughing unnecessarily.
9. Dry weather is harmful to the voice. Air conditioners that contain less water vapor reduce the humidity of the voice. Charge the humidifier at night.
10. If the throat is dry or mucus is accumulated, we try to clear the throat by coughing loudly which is harmful. What to do - Take a deep breath, hold it for a while, while exhaling, make a slow sound.
11. Mucus thinning medications can be used when excess mucus is produced.
12. Do not overuse local anesthetics.
13. Practice regular exercise. As exercise increases work power, it increases muscle strength. Exercise gives abundance of breath, so that it is possible to speak clearly.
14. Get enough rest. Physical fatigue affects the voice.
15. Salty food should be avoided. Stomach acid increases from bile. And it can come up through the esophagus, which is called reflux.
16. Make it a habit to wash your hands regularly. It is less able to overcome colds and influenza.
> Homeo Solution: Voice infection can happen to any person. This will cause your throat to become swollen, painful and difficult to swallow. Mainly flu and common cold flu viruses cause this infection, but also allergies, bacterial infections, polluted air or smoking also cause this infection. Therefore, homeopathy ensures the most effective treatment for voice problems. Apart from homeopathy, all other medical systems in the world are superficial in performing the treatment due to which they fail to eradicate the disease from the root. Moreover, many incurable or chronic diseases are not treated in other medical sciences except homeopathy. Only Homeopathy cures any incurable disease from the root by finding the real cause of the disease. And this is why homeopathy ensures the most effective and efficient treatment of serious diseases. But for this, it is necessary to take treatment under the advice of an expert homeo doctorDepending on the symptoms of the patient, the experienced homeopathic doctor initially selects the medicines Belladonna, Hepar Sulph, Phosphorus Lachesis, Ignacia, Bryonia, Drosera, Mark Sol, Arsenicum album, Aconite, Causticum, Argentum to cure voice disordersMetallicum, Chamomile, Baryta Carbonica, Thuja, Sulphur, Kelly Vikram, Rastrox and many other medicines can help with symptoms. However, no medicine should be taken without the advice of an experienced doctor.
Finally, we communicate with each other mainly through voice. We laugh with voice, we cry, we speak out, we shout when we are angry or to escape from danger, we express our feelings easilyAnd the ability to convey our thoughts and feelings to others through voice is our greatest achievement as humans. Unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits lead to various vocal problems. So it is important to maintain a healthy habit to maintain a proper voiceThe aim of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about the necessity of voice in our daily life and healthy voice.
Writer, physician, columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society.
