Go ahead and raise your voice, but be careful if your job depends on it

Teachers and celebrities have this in common: Their voices are vital to their jobs. And people in both professions are learning how much their livelihoods can affect their vocal health.

Just ask Ann De Lacy. She spent more than three decades in the classroom before retiring. As this Baltimore Sun story says: “Now I can barely talk. It puts so much stress on the voice,” De Lacy said. “You can’t not talk when you’re a teacher. And it’s like we’re actresses and actors — the voice is everything.”

Throat specialist Dr. Lee M. Akst agrees, the story says. “Teachers are a particularly high-risk profession, even more than salespeople or doctors or lawyers,” Akst said. Some teachers are using amplification systems so they don’t have to strain their voices to be heard.

The problem isn’t limited to teachers. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery suggests any “occupational or professional voice user” may face these vocal challenges and offers tips like staying well hydrated and avoiding cigarettes.

And here‘s good advice for everyone on how to protect your voice.