Illus: Amit Bandre
KOCHI: Teachers are the most inevitable part of one’s life. Playing an extraordinary role in one’s academic, social and emotional development, they help nurture children to become responsible and ingenious citizens of our country. It is true that when they do their best in building careers there is also a need to take care and preserve their valuable teaching asset - their voice.
Teachers are among those professionals who have to place greater demand on their voice. No matter the timespan of the class, the ultimate aim is to get their voice reach all corners of the classroom. Unfortunately, many teachers do not receive any training in public speaking or stress management.
Studies point out a significant association between voice disorder and sick leaves. A recent study reports that primary school teachers are more prone to develop voice problems when compared with other Professional Voice Users (PVU) with a prevalence rate of 17.4 per cent.
The majority of their participants reported of frequent tiring of voice after long hours of talking, followed by a sore or dry throat, strain in voice, neck muscle tension and difficulty in projecting voice.
The number of years of teaching, high background noise levels in the classroom, experiencing psychological stress while teaching, holding breath while speaking, clenching jaw/teeth while speaking, upper respiratory tract infection, thyroid problems and acid reflux are the significant risks they develop for voice problems. Another very recent study in 2018 found that though for nearly half of the teachers, voice mattered for professional needs, many of them managed to cope with their difficulties through home remedies.
Vocal abuse and misuse pertaining to teachers fall into the slow onset category. Their symptoms present a range of conditions including hoarseness, harsh or rough voice, shortness of breath, breathy voice, a decrease in pitch range, decrease in loudness, loss of voice, increased strain on speaking, and tension in neck muscles.
It may cause to develop some of the most common voice disorders such as vocal nodules and vocal polyps.Now the question is how you can avoid such annoying complications when teaching is the gifted profession you have.
No ‘kich kich’
Due to excessive mucous, some tend to clear out throats out of habit rather than the arising need. This behaviour is traumatic to the vocal folds. A few alternatives that can be used are:
i. Swallowing saliva helps reduce the perceived need to clear the throat by relaxing larynx (voice box) and getting rid of the mucous.
ii. Take a small sip of water
No whispering, please!
When one whispers, some portions of the vocal folds come closely in approximation to each other with more strength which can damage your vocal folds. Forced or loud whispering is the most harmful. However, soft whispering without vocal contact may be safe.
No grunts!
When you grunt while lifting a heavy object or during exercise, do you know that it creates a forceful and traumatic adduction of your vocal folds? In such cases:
i. Exhale slowly on the exertion phase of any exercise
ii. Adduct the vocal folds gently prior to initiating each exercises event (such as sit up or weight lift).
Angry bird?
Often teachers lose their calm and yell or scream as an expression of anger and frustration. This not only affects them but also harms one’s voice. In such situations, use these techniques:
i. Tap the table or using a whistle or bell.
ii. Engage the help of others in monitoring
iii. Use facial and other physical gestures to express emotions
iv. Hissing to express anger/ frustration
v. Use assistive listening devices in a classroom. Many sound field devices are available today assisted with technologies including microphone, FM and infrared. Studies report that they make teachers feel less tired as they speak softer.
Listen, the universe is melodious
Maybe your class hours are so busy scheduled or you are a born talkative that it is extremely arduous to break it. Don’t worry, we are not asking you to cut off your talent but to control. You will be required to make some modifications:
i. Schedule vocal ‘naps’. Give a 20 minutes silence period, two to three times a day
ii. Keep a beep in your watch as a reminder to check your vocal behaviour
iii. Limit the amount of time on telephone
iv. Limit interrupting others in conversation. Be a good listener.
Say no to caffeine
Excessive caffeine intake has a diuretic effect and depletes the vocal fold tissues from its needed hydration. To help your vocal folds breath, you must avoid caffeinated beverages, especially before a heavy performance or rehearsal, lectures, trials or teaching. Switch to decaffeinated beverages. Drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee, soda or tea.
Water ingestion and steam inhalation are often advised for teachers as it makes speaking less effortful. All one has to do is drink water after eating. Keep water at all times and everywhere possible.
Voice care is incredibly important for a teacher and vocal hygiene tips are some true friends to the vocal folds. One should not hesitate to reach a voice pathologist if anything is found out of the ordinary in one’s normal voice for more than three months.
The author is a speech and language pathologist at Prayatna Centre for Child Development in Palarivattom. (The views expressed by the author are her own)
