Optimising Voice Quality through Nasal Hydration. What are the Implications for the Voice Community?

Vocal folds vibrate at extremely high frequencies. In males, the fundamental frequency (F0) averages around 125 Hz, and in females, around 250 Hz—equivalent to approximately 7,500 and 15,000 revolutions per minute (RPM), respectively. This RPM greatly exceeds, for example, the centrifuge of a washing machine spinning at 1400 RPM, or a car engine in acceleration, going between 3500 and 4000 RPM. That is the reason for which high-speed vibration causes significant friction on the tissues of the vocal folds, and if the mucosal layers are not in optimal condition, this can result in phonotrauma and vocal pathologies.

Thereby, the Vocal folds need a high degree of humidity to be able to vibrate at their normal high frequency. Hydration makes the tissue more flexible. The moisture of the tissue is one of the first factors that is lost when there is a pathology or when an unusual overload is suffered. Furthermore, hydration is one of the most effective measures to recovering function in emergency situations. For instance, voice professionals have to deal with stress, anxiety, fatigue, and changes in the environmental temperature. They endure dryness of the performance space, because of the air conditioning or the heating. All these factors affect the voice and can make performance more difficult.

Drinking water is excellent for the hydration of the whole body but it hydrates the vocal folds slowly. The ideal and fastest way to moisturize the vocal folds is directly through the respiratory system.

Researchers have proposed the use of nebulisers to superficially hydrate the vocal folds and boost vocal function (Vermeulen et al. 2021). In addition, we proposed another method of superficial hydration: nasal hydration using a damp gauze (Borragán et al., 2021) among other techniques, and we observe hydration effectivity.

This session will explore the different methods of hydration, and we will present our research findings and explore the implications for the voice community.

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