Summary
Overview
In this episode of What's Up Docs, Dr. Chris and Dr. Zand explore the fascinating world of voice with speech and language therapist Lydia Hart. The discussion covers the anatomy of voice production, how hormones and emotions affect our voices, practical tips for vocal care, and when voice changes require medical attention. The hosts also candidly discuss Chris's recent headache scare and the psychological barriers doctors face when seeking their own healthcare.
Chris's Headache Journey and Healthcare Anxiety
Dr. Chris opens up about his recent experience seeking medical care for persistent headaches, revealing the complex psychological barriers that prevented him from getting help sooner. After eventually seeing a neurologist and undergoing scans that came back completely normal, his headache mysteriously disappeared. The experience highlighted how pain is profoundly modified by our understanding of it, and how even doctors struggle with embarrassment, time pressures, and minimizing their own symptoms when it comes to seeking care.
- After persistent encouragement, Chris finally saw a neurologist for headaches and underwent brain scans that were completely normal
- The headache completely disappeared after getting the scan results, demonstrating the mind-body connection
- Chris felt embarrassed throughout the process, even joking inappropriately that he "doesn't really believe in headaches"
- Being a doctor actually fought against him at every point in seeking care
" I just found myself doing all this patient stuff that I see other patients do and you don't think you'll do it anyway so I felt a great empathy for all the patients that have done that with me "
" The pain was so modified by my knowledge about the pain and I don't think doctors have an easy way of explaining this to patients or we don't often understand it very well ourselves "
Voice Anatomy and Production
Lydia Hart explains the fundamental anatomy of voice production, starting with the larynx located in the throat. She describes how the vocal cords are two mucus-covered membranes that vibrate when air from the lungs passes through them, producing sound. The pitch changes based on how tightly the vocal cords are stretched, similar to an elastic band. Voice production involves not just the larynx but the entire vocal tract, articulators like the tongue and lips, and the brain for language processing.
- The larynx sits in the middle of the throat, and everyone has an Adam's apple (though women's are smaller)
- Vocal cords are two mucus-covered membranes with muscle running down the middle, sitting in a V-shape
- Voice is produced when the vocal cords close together and air makes them vibrate
- Pitch changes by tightening or loosening the vocal cords, like stretching an elastic band
- The hyoid bone is the only bone in the body not connected to another bone
" Your voice is a muscular thing so you train your voice like you would train other muscles in the body so professional voice users singers actors they just have very well trained instruments "
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