Vocal expertise… What is that? And why should you look for a qualified vocal expert?

Let’s suppose you woke up feeling ill and experiencing sore throat, cough and a fever. Naturally, you think that you got a cold or caught some kind of a virus

Nothing too dangerous, you may think...

So, for the next several days, you do everything to get rid of the symptoms. And yes, you were able to get rid of pretty much all of them, except your throat is still bothering you.

Moreover, after you knocked down your cold or your virus symptoms, you discover that, not only that your throat is still sore, but your voice is acting kind of weird.

It’s sounding kind of hoarse and raspy and you have to clear your throat every 15 minutes.

The time passes by and you are completely recovered on every level, but your voice is still sounding 
Hoarse and not coming back to its normal state.

In this instance, you decide to go back to your family doctor, just to get a referral to an ENT specialist.

After waiting three to five months for that appointment, to your dismay, you find out that you actually have either a paralyzed vocal cord or spasmodic dysphonia!

How devastating it must be?

I agree, the devastation goes beyond words.

People who never had any problems with their voices are now practically disabled.

Some of them had to change their professions, as they could not teach anymore, be a crown attorney in court, or even continue to be a doctor’s assistant or just even an office secretary, where the person was required to answer the phone.

The worst part, especially for singers, was when the doctors, at best, gave them the diagnosis (not always the accurate ones), but never told them how to treat the problem, let alone cure it.

On that note, the effected people, (and especially singers), decided to go to a regular vocal coach in hopes to rectify their voice/vocal problems. They got regular style vocal coaching, but the voice problem was still remaining and never got addressed.

In some cases, the voice condition actually became worse.

For some reason, people in general do understand that, if some kind of internal organ problem occurs, they will be referred to a specialist who can attend to their specific problem.

The family physician is not the one who specializes in internal medicine. 

Granted they have already been referred to the ENT specialist, but that is another story altogether.

The ENT specialist is not necessarily an expert in the voice mechanics. In real sense, to restore the voice mechanics to whichever degree possible, takes a vocal expert who specializes in such matters.

Yes, the ENT doctor could, for example, prescribe medication for the acid reflux occurrence, or the Botox injections, especially in the case of spasmodic dysphonia, which is, unfortunately, also only a temporary measure.

But beyond that would be only a surgical procedure offered, which also could be detrimental to your voice, (scar tissue and other post-operative residuals), or even your health and life in general. So your first measure would be to search for a voice/vocal specialist who has the holistic understanding how to approach the vocal issue mechanically, mentally, physically and emotionally, and how to cater it to a specific person and personality.

The regular vocal coach will not qualify for such tasks.

It is an incredibly intense and tedious undertaking which requires the special skills from the voice expert and, especially, patience and compassion towards the injured individual. As for the actual vocally injured person, it also requires willingness and 'lovingness', open heart and soul as well as patience, to except such services.

The vocal expert and the vocally injured person should outline the mutual goal and enjoy achieving the results.