It's so good to 'talk'....

I've lost my voice for the last 3 days!. So i've only been able to whisper...

The trouble has been that everyone has been whispering back to me! :loopy:

Why do people do that????

Lost your voice .
Allah spreads his blessing in many strange ways. shh

Originally posted by eagleeyes
It's so good to 'talk'....

I've lost my voice for the last 3 days!. So i've only been able to whisper...

The trouble has been that everyone has been whispering back to me! :loopy:

Why do people do that????

I suffer from ear-ache and sometimes my ears are so blocked I can't hear very well, so what do I do, I can't hear sound very well, so like an idiot I shout when I'm talking assuming that no one can hear me properly :loopy:

Originally posted by eagleeyes
It's so good to 'talk'....

I've lost my voice for the last 3 days!. So i've only been able to whisper...

The trouble has been that everyone has been whispering back to me! :loopy:

Why do people do that????

I have suffered voice loss after an urgent medical procedure in 2004 and ever since I have suffered with voice loss. It is now extremely variable and ranges from absolutely nothing through to croaky, high-pitched, squeaky and extremely loud.

The type of situation you've outlined is a very common reaction which is absolutely infuriating; there is absolutely nothing you can do about this. I am not sure why people do this and think it has something to do with mimicry.

However I strongly recommend you get yourself to your GP for advice and if it persists for more than 7-10 days thereafter get a referral to ENT. There could be many reasons for this; singers and teachers need to be particularly careful with their voice. I assume you are not a singer because most singers would know this as a matter of course. Teachers, however, may not be so well informed of the problems involved.

PM me if you need more info.

I think they're taking the p***. (SORRY FOR THAT)

When I've lost mine, they all do that to me and then go away laughing, especially when I can't shout at anyone.:hihi:

[B] I think they're taking the p***. (SORRY FOR THAT)[B]

Thats the funny part DIBS, They AREN'T :hihi:
so they feel awfully foolish when i say 'YOU don't have to whisper, I'M the one whose lost my voice' :hihi:

Originally posted by wendygs
I have suffered voice loss after an urgent medical procedure in 2004 and ever since I have suffered with voice loss. It is now extremely variable and ranges from absolutely nothing through to croaky, high-pitched, squeaky and extremely loud.

The type of situation you've outlined is a very common reaction which is absolutely infuriating; there is absolutely nothing you can do about this. I am not sure why people do this and think it has something to do with mimicry.

However I strongly recommend you get yourself to your GP for advice and if it persists for more than 7-10 days thereafter get a referral to ENT. There could be many reasons for this; singers and teachers need to be particularly careful with their voice. I assume you are not a singer because most singers would know this as a matter of course. Teachers, however, may not be so well informed of the problems involved.

PM me if you need more info.

HI WENDYGS

THANKS FOR THE INFO. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN ANNOYING COLD/FLU BUG. BUT I AM A LECTURER AND HAVE TO DO LOTS OF TALKING.

I'VE TRIED PM ing YOU. BUT YOUR BOX IS FULL. BUT IF YOU HAVE MORE INFO THAT WOULD BE GREAT. :thumbsup:

HOPEFULLY IT WILL GET BETTER OVER THE WEEKEND, SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO DRS :(

THANKS. x

Originally posted by eagleeyes
HI WENDYGS

THANKS FOR THE INFO. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN ANNOYING COLD/FLU BUG. BUT I AM A LECTURER AND HAVE TO DO LOTS OF TALKING.

I'VE TRIED PM ing YOU. BUT YOUR BOX IS FULL. BUT IF YOU HAVE MORE INFO THAT WOULD BE GREAT. :thumbsup:

HOPEFULLY IT WILL GET BETTER OVER THE WEEKEND, SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO DRS :(

THANKS. x


Woah!! As far as i'm aware there's only one person who mentioned loss of hearing, not us all!! Please don't shout!!

I've lost my voice too so imagine this in a whispered tone lol!!

Originally posted by tinkabel
Woah!! As far as i'm aware there's only one person who mentioned loss of hearing, not us all!! Please don't shout!!

I've lost my voice too so imagine this in a whispered tone lol!!

:hihi: whispering back....

I forgot the 'quote' comes up in it's own box so did capitals so everyone could see where the quote ended and i began.:loopy: :blush:

I hope you soon feel better tinkabel!



:confused: when I wished for a quiet life, this wasn't quite what i was expecting! :confused: :hihi:

Originally posted by eagleeyes
:hihi: whispering back....

I forgot the 'quote' comes up in it's own box so did capitals so everyone could see where the quote ended and i began.:loopy: :blush:

I hope you soon feel better tinkabel!



:confused: when I wished for a quiet life, this wasn't quite what i was expecting! :confused: :hihi:

Hope you feel better soon eagleeyes! At least with people whispering to you too, if they say something bad you can pretend you never heard! I have selective hearing when someone whispers to me so i ignore the 'do you want to make a drink' lol!!

Originally posted by eagleeyes
HI WENDYGS

THANKS FOR THE INFO. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN ANNOYING COLD/FLU BUG. BUT I AM A LECTURER AND HAVE TO DO LOTS OF TALKING.

I'VE TRIED PM ing YOU. BUT YOUR BOX IS FULL. BUT IF YOU HAVE MORE INFO THAT WOULD BE GREAT. :thumbsup:

HOPEFULLY IT WILL GET BETTER OVER THE WEEKEND, SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO DRS :(

THANKS. x

Yeah hi eagleeyes. For the time being rest your voice as much as possible and get to your GP asap. When I went to the speech therapist in Royal Hallamshire they had one poor lass, also a teacher, who could hardly speak in anything more than a whisper. Our voices are not made for so much speaking.

I've also experienced all of this stuff and far more about the way people behave. This is in fact one of the nicer reactions; it is worse when they pretend to be concerned and start being right nasty eg if it hurts to speak write it down BUT then bombard me with stuff while I am still dealing with the first question and get really shirty about that as well.

Right intolerant lot of people when it comes to voice loss. Get people wantting to communicate in sign language or lipread neither of which I can understand. :confused:

I've got to go now but will be back onj line Saturday evening.

Rest your voice

Do you think someone could isolate the cause of this voice loss and pass it onto my wife? My ears might stop bleeding then.

Originally posted by eagleeyes
It's so good to 'talk'....

I've lost my voice for the last 3 days!. So i've only been able to whisper...

The trouble has been that everyone has been whispering back to me! :loopy:

Why do people do that????

This is a very serious issue which I've been thinking about more over the weekend.

NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) includes a concept of "mirroring" which in simplistic terms is about matching the behaviour of the people you communicate with to get the best results out of your exchange with them.

As a general rule people do this automatically with extreme forms of behaviour. Therefore when people talk loudly others will speak more loudly so that they can be heard.

The same principles apply in reverse when communicating with people who are only able to speak in a whisper. Therefore if you can only whisper that is how people will speak with you.

In terms of voice care advice a lot will depend on the cause and it is a highly specialised area complicated by the fact that not much is known about the laryngeal muscles and vocal chords, how they work and what happens when they dont work.

Originally posted by wendygs
This is a very serious issue which I've been thinking about more over the weekend.

NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) includes a concept of "mirroring" which in simplistic terms is about matching the behaviour of the people you communicate with to get the best results out of your exchange with them.

As a general rule people do this automatically with extreme forms of behaviour. Therefore when people talk loudly others will speak more loudly so that they can be heard.

The same principles apply in reverse when communicating with people who are only able to speak in a whisper. Therefore if you can only whisper that is how people will speak with you.

I sorta agree with this in the context of the OP - maybe it's cos your friends appreciate that you're temporarily unwell, eagleeyes, and try to make allowances and whisper back. In the same way that someone with a bad headache will talk quietly because anything louder hurts, so we talk back equally quietly so as to avoid adding pain. Also, if a hard-of-hearing person is talking LOUDLY, we would tend to (have to!) shout back, otherwise they won't hear. It's not meant to be rude at all, it's more an attempt to be understanding of their specific condition, and communicating in a way so that they can HEAR.

That is no explanation as regards the way people apparently treat Wendygs, but I guess her condition is fairly unusual and thus most people haven't come across it before so react within the perameters of what they know.

Although a sense of humour is essential for sufferers of voice loss conditions, it is also my observation that people are insensitive, thoughtless or offensive about conditions of this nature. In some cases this may be ascribed to their ignorance regarding the high level of distress that voice loss sufferers experience because of the practical life challenges as a result of this condition. Where such intolerance persists it may be disability discrimination.

A major difficulty which voice loss sufferers face is that the vast majority of the population are not aware of the condition. This is not surprising BECAUSE voice loss sufferers usually have difficulty in communicating.

Until recently my landlord used to employ a window-cleaner and he was extremely good at his job. Very unfortunately he had cancer possibly of the mouth or throat which led to a laryngoectomy, ie removal of the larynx.

On recovery he tried to return to work but finally had to jack it in because he cant speak and is unable to communicate his needs. This is extremely common.

Originally posted by wendygs
A it is also my observation that people are insensitive, thoughtless or offensive about conditions of this nature.

the human race is offensive, thoughtless and insensitive anyway, specially about things they dont know or care about

Originally posted by melthebell
the human race is offensive, thoughtless and insensitive anyway, specially about things they dont know or care about

There is a slight difference when the hospital has reported the disability several times to the same organisation and they still persist in abusing the sufferer.

Thanks for your help guys,
It's very much appreciated. :)

I've been trying to rest it for the last couple of days and it seems to be getting a bit better.

We don't realise how much we use something until its not there!
I'm not exactly the 'quietest' of people usually, so not being able to talk is pretty frustrating :rant:

At least it's giving family and friends a good titter, in the nicest possible way.

so thanks again for your postings. x:)

Originally posted by eagleeyes
Thanks for your help guys,
It's very much appreciated. :)

I've been trying to rest it for the last couple of days and it seems to be getting a bit better.

We don't realise how much we use something until its not there!
I'm not exactly the 'quietest' of people usually, so not being able to talk is pretty frustrating :rant:

At least it's giving family and friends a good titter, in the nicest possible way.

so thanks again for your postings. x:)

Tell me about it. I've had to contend with this and the highly offensive responses of many people and organisations for the past 2 years. My medical voice care advice includes speaking as little as possible, not to speak on the phone, write instead of speak. You cant begin to imagine how tedious, frustrating and isolating this is or indeed quite how offensive people can be when faced with this disability.

In addition it would seem I am expected to maintain a sense of humour and tolerate the insufferable, intolerant, ignorant gits I contend with on a daily basis.

For the most part when use this Forum there is an equal footing which otherwise does not exist.

Originally posted by eagleeyes
Thanks for your help guys,
It's very much appreciated. :)

I've been trying to rest it for the last couple of days and it seems to be getting a bit better.

We don't realise how much we use something until its not there!
I'm not exactly the 'quietest' of people usually, so not being able to talk is pretty frustrating :rant:

At least it's giving family and friends a good titter, in the nicest possible way.

so thanks again for your postings. x:)

Delighted to hear there's beginning to be a slight improvement in your voice and if it continues like this I do hope you allow yourself at least TWO WEEKS to recover because the voice box and related muscles are a very fragile area. Although no expert I probably know more about this than most having suffered voice loss for so long.

In practical terms little is known about the larygeal muscles or vocal chords and how they work to produce sound. With protracted voice loss it is essential to see an ENT specialist to ensure it is not due to a more serious condition.

Before making a diagnosis, the ENT Consultant investigates the larynx while the patient speaks to see what happens. If they use a computer it will display on a computer screen which the patient can also see. The consultant makes recommendations; where over-use or abuse (eg shouting frequently) it may mean a course of speech therapy to learn about voice care and how to strengthen the laryngeal muscles.

maybe your ears are blocked too? ;)

Originally posted by AlquarUK
maybe your ears are blocked too? ;)

Pardon??:hihi:

Three years ago, I had a tumour removed from my tongue, a quite serious operation that left me unable to talk at all for a while. After the operation, which lasted 14 hours, I was returned to the ward via intensive care and was given a notepad and pencil to communicate. Funny thing was, people used to take the pad from me and write down their questions/replies! And when I pointed out that I was in fact NOT deaf, they would start talking in a strange way, sort of over mouthing their words as if I had trouble understanding.

Glad to say, everythings OK now.

Originally posted by RoyalRegular
Three years ago, I had a tumour removed from my tongue, a quite serious operation that left me unable to talk at all for a while. After the operation, which lasted 14 hours, I was returned to the ward via intensive care and was given a notepad and pencil to communicate. Funny thing was, people used to take the pad from me and write down their questions/replies! And when I pointed out that I was in fact NOT deaf, they would start talking in a strange way, sort of over mouthing their words as if I had trouble understanding.

Glad to say, everythings OK now.

I am very glad you posted because you've raised an issue I had wanted to discuss but decided against because I didnt want to worry anyone. The reactions you've described are so common. People also ask me to use sign language or lipread when my hospital card clearly states I cant do either. Cant tell you how infuriating that can be. Makes me wonder if people can read.

Originally posted by RoyalRegular
Three years ago, I had a tumour removed from my tongue, a quite serious operation that left me unable to talk at all for a while. After the operation, which lasted 14 hours, I was returned to the ward via intensive care and was given a notepad and pencil to communicate. Funny thing was, people used to take the pad from me and write down their questions/replies! And when I pointed out that I was in fact NOT deaf, they would start talking in a strange way, sort of over mouthing their words as if I had trouble understanding.

Glad to say, everythings OK now.

I am very glad you posted because you've raised an issue I had wanted to discuss but decided against because I didnt want to worry anyone.

Hope that it hasnt left you too seriously impaired speechwise. The reactions you've described are so common. People also ask me to use sign language or lipread when my hospital card clearly states I cant do either. Cant tell you how infuriating that can be. Makes me wonder if people are at all able to read.

For what my thoughts are worth, I think eagleeyes does need a specialist opinion because none of us can really understand the underlying complications of voice loss because the larynx is such a complex piece of architecture.

Hi everyone

Thanks for all your replies.
Seeing as i've been getting worse over the last couple of weeks I took your advice and I've just come back from Drs... He's pretty certain its viral and told me I GOT to have time off work.. :( I love my job

If no better next week, off the see specialist...

It's not easy being quiet when I'm a naturally 'loud' person. lol
But i suppose it will give everyone a rest for a while. :heyhey: (I'll get my own back on everyone when i can talk again. :suspect: :heyhey: )

As for writing things down and the likes, The only person i've had a 'chat' to without any problems is my signlanguage teacher. lol :hihi:


So thank you all for advice etc. I hope anyone else who is suffering feels better soon.

Take care
eagleeyes. x

Originally posted by eagleeyes
Hi everyone

Thanks for all your replies.
Seeing as i've been getting worse over the last couple of weeks I took your advice and I've just come back from Drs... He's pretty certain its viral and told me I GOT to have time off work.. :( I love my job

If no better next week, off the see specialist...

It's not easy being quiet when I'm a naturally 'loud' person. lol
But i suppose it will give everyone a rest for a while. :heyhey: (I'll get my own back on everyone when i can talk again. :suspect: :heyhey: )

As for writing things down and the likes, The only person i've had a 'chat' to without any problems is my signlanguage teacher. lol :hihi:


So thank you all for advice etc. I hope anyone else who is suffering feels better soon.

Take care
eagleeyes. x



I am sooooooooo relieved you took yourself off to the GP; dont see how medication is likely to be of any help. What a great skill to be able to use sign language. Wish you a speedy recovery. And just think now you can spend loads more time on-line or even go in to town to go shopping armed with your notepad and a pen which I'm sure will not enchant the shops I usually use - they'll think it's becoming highly contagious. :D :D

I took my blind friend shopping last week and what with her not being able to see, and me not being able to talk, I was amazed at how much help we got. lol :clap:
We had 3 male assistants fussing round us.
:heyhey: Hey, I thought "I could get use to this" :heyhey:


Or maybe it was just my good looks,and charm that drew them to us. :banana:

Before it was confirmed that I was asthmatic I used to use Pholcodiene (think that is how it spelt) when I had a cough and I use to lose my voice for a few days, it was the medicine that was causing it so have you taken any over the counter medication that could cause the loss of voice.

It took me two days to realise i'd lost my voice, from seeing my boyfriend first thing monday morning when i left his house, to him ringing me on tuesday night i had no idea.. i picked up the phone to answer and no noise came out!
I'd had a sore throat for a couple of days, that had mainly gone and i just had a 'funny throat', turned out i had laryngitus (sp?) which the doc said was probably viral but as i had a temp and am susceptible to infections i got antibiotics too. It took me another 4 days to get any voice back at all!!! I wasn't croaky, it didn't hurt to try to talk.. there was just no voice! very annoying!
everyone spoke back to me in whispers too, most didn't realise they were doing it til i told em!!
Anyway eagleeyes hope it clears up soon!

Sounds like there's something going around.

I once lost my voice just from shouting too much - my dog got out and wouldnt come back when called as didnt answer to me as voice wasnt deep enough and nobody else was about, so trying to make my voice sound deep as i could and shouting at top of my lungs it just suddenly went to point of being able to only whisper and i was like that for nearly a week. It was really frustrating and my friends couldnt stop laughing at me for it and would wind me up knowing i couldnt shout back etc.

Theres not much you can do really other than rest it, have warm drinks and also try honey as that is soothing and good for your throat. Has the doc given you any antibiotics or anything if its viral infection then that may sort it out?

hope your better soon,
hazel xx