Hi guys/gals-

I haven't been around long, but I'm impressed with the combined knowledge that can be found on this forum, and I'm hoping you can provide some insight for me.

Anyway a little back story...
I've been singing for many years recreationally, and in a gigging classic rock wedding/party band for a few years. In short, I'm not new to singing, even for extended periods.

Through sheer force, I've been able to belt notes that are pretty high, but lately I've been trying educate myself through RYV and BTC and lots of time online on how to access head voice correctly.

That's the cliff notes version so I can get to the important part. Since I've been really focusing on improvement, I've become aware of signs that may indicate vocal nodules.

The issues:
1) I have a 'catch' point when doing low volume 'ee' sirens at about the c5 point. When I slide up to this point, my voice is pure breath with no apparent adduction. I can continue the slide after that point just fine, and if I do the siren with more breath support, there is no catch at all.
2) My speaking voice seems more fry-ish as of late. (This may be due to allergies, so it's not as much of a concern to me).

Is a catch like the one I'm describing reason for concern? It doesn't affect my normal singing voice, but I don't want to continue any habits that may be doing damage. How does one distinguish between nodules and a simple lack of muscle coordination?

My next question (the subject of some future post) concerns distinguishing head voice from reinforced falsetto (I'm still searching old threads for my answer). But I'll save that for later.

Thank you for any input you may have for me. I'd like to take steps to preserve my voice.

About 10 years ago I had a similar problem and was scared to death so I went to an ENT and made them scope my throat. It was just a really bad allergy season;) Please go get checked out.

Jaime, thank you for the fast reply. I am hoping that it is a temporary thing (perhaps allergies), but I am trying to be cautious in my response to it.
I am now trying to find out if my insurance will cover a visit to an ENT to get a medical opinion.

It doesn't seem to affect my normal singing voice (no gaps in my range, and no unreasonable fatigue), but I worry that it may hinder my ability to fully utilize and strengthen my head voice.

Thanks again for responding.

Well, after giving my voice a lot of time to recover, the fact that I still have mild hoarseness and a fear of potentially doing (more?) damage has culminated in heading to the ENT this Tuesday.

I'm not sure if a laryngoscopy will be performed on the first visit or not. Frankly I'm not sure what to expect. But the lack of singing has been driving me batty, and I just need to know what's going on.

I have 2 months until the next show that I absolutely can't cancel, so it's time to get this thing figured out.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

For the purpose of possibly helping others in my position, I am updating this thread with my progress.

The ENT I saw said (after a basic scope) that he saw lots of evidence of 'silent' acid reflux. He also thought the quality of my voice and an initial look (without strobe) at my vocal cords lead him to conclude that nodules aren't likely.

Even if it's not the cause of my vocal issues (which there is a good chance it is), we have to treat the reflux. Left untreated, acid reflux can lead to esophageal cancer.

After a few weeks of medication, I can already tell a drastic difference. I was really nervous about the possibility of nodules, but have found it pretty interesting that reflux shows up with the same symptoms as nodules do.

Hopefully this post helps somebody else who exhibits the same symptoms.

Well, you have to figure that the same thing is happening. With the nodule, you have what is essentially a callous on your vocal cords, that keeps them from lining up and sealing correctly.

The Acid Reflux burns away the Lamina (the layer of mucus that rides along the edges of the folds) and then burns the cords, which causes swelling among other things, which - just like the nodule - will keep your vocal cords from lining up correctly, and sealing correctly.

So they would defintiely have similar symptoms. The same goes for any type of Granuloma as well.




Tim