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Muscle Tension Dysphonia: Tips and exercises to manage and heal
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
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Tips and tricks on how to manage and heal from muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) Tips for speaking and for singing. These tips and tricks can also help singers suffering from tension, you don't have to have MTD to benefit from these exercises.
Take online voice lessons with Liz! - www.lizbills.c...
You can use this link to talk to Liz as well, ask questions etc.
Recovery story: • How I recovered from m...
Brookstone massager: www.amazon.com...
Stretch routine: • Stretches for MTD (mus...
MTD warmup video: • Muscle Tension Dysphon...
Yoga with Adriene: / yogawithadriene
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lizbills (band and life stuff)
mind_body_soul_singing (singing stuff)
The tips and their timeline
straw 2:06 (singing 4:52)
humming 7:19
vacuum 8:12
bubbles 9:11
baby voice 10:35
body movement 12:09 (all exercises together 12:43)
laying on the ground 13:28
forward folds 14:10
displacing tension 15:00
massage 16:30
vocal fry 17:41
I can speak free when i am yelling, crying , i have a very hard time, bur, being excited or when excited has helped once or twice.
I don’t get it
Just like yoga Somatics all different body techniques i am not sold on any variety.
I'm a Speech Pathologist (Voice Therapist) and all of this is spot on and you explain it very clearly! Brava!
Samantha U'Ren I just was diagnosed with MTD, so I’m happy to hear this is a useful video and techniques.👍
Could I ask to talk to you about that? I am hoping to become an SLP specializing in singing health (I believe Voice is the term for it) and would love to find out more about it!
@@alexandraburris2876 have you learned anything? because I'm also looking into doing this!
@@ethanl886 That's awesome! Well, so far I've learned that the people I've talked to really love their jobs. :) And that some of them do other stuff in addition to the singing-related work (one, for example, works in a hospital as well) and some I believe don't, although it is good to explore a lot of different areas of the field bcuz you may stumble on something else you really love and are excited about too. (For example, I'm excited about the singing thing and about working with seniors with speech difficulties.) And that prospective SLP's should take some time and do some research to make sure they really love it before investing the time + money in school (sounds like you're already working on this, so that's great!) And that you can come into it from a lot of dfiferent professional backgrounds, and it doesn't matter whether you're straight out of college or not. :) And that I think the biggest takeaway so far for me is that there's a lot of flexibility in SLP (i.e., you can work in a lot of different areas, you can choose whether you want to go into private practice, etc.) Hope this helps! :)
@@alexandraburris2876 wow thank you so much!! all of this info is very helpful :)
because of you, i haven't given up.
Same
A year ago I was diagnosed with MTD. As I read these comments, I felt like I was never going to be fine again. However, it has been 3 months since I last felt pain while talking and I'm back on track with recording my music. After recovering from that condition in seven months, I feel much better now. It's important to find a great speech therapist and yoga practices also helped me a lot. Never give up hope. I know it is frustrating, but eventually, it will get better. Having no pain whatsoever gave me a sense of responsibility to share this with people who are suffering from the same condition as myself. The information and practices I was able to get from this channel helped me a lot with regard to my condition and the manual therapy. You can find some of my old comments in this section.
Hi... Please guide me🙏
Thank you. I am really struggling. Diagnosed with MTD inApril 2022. So much tension I am in constant discomfort even swallowing in now feeling difficult. Reading your post gives me hope.
@@farhakadir2794 Hello my friend I sent you my email address but youtube somehow deleted it but you can find it in my channel description. I'd be happy to help you
@@janeviscolosi6455 I hope that you feel better my friend. It can be devastating sometimes but eventually the pain will be all gone
@@AmirMolaeiMusic Thank you Anir! I am doing exercises and massage and am seeing improvement and i so thankful for these and other you tube videos so helpful! :)
This was like five $200 vocal therapy sessions in one. THANK YOU!!!!
Yay!
please don't ever take these videos down. so helpful to know that i'm not the only one suffering.. was diagnosed with MTD last year. thanks so much for your advice and information!
Hi it will help a lot if you stop coffee, alcohol, smoking anything that increases heart pulses. You need to massage the whole head were its tense. This is not just a throat/neck thing. Breathe to calm down during the day. This has to do with tension and not caused by singing.
You saved my life and my job ! I ve been doing all the exercises with you and my voice stopped hurting , I stopped cancelling my lessons (also a music teacher ) , I don t get hoarse anymore. It s like magic yeayy :)
omg i am SOOO HAPPY!!!! So happy to help you yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love love love
Liz Bills u
I literally never comment on videos, and I just wanted to say that your story really helped me feel hopeful and the way you explained these exercises is great. You’ve just pulled me out a dark patch and I’m sure you’ve done the same for many others, keep doing what you’re doing. You’re voice is also phenomenal x
Luke Nederveen so happy to help and thank you for your comment xoxo
hi there! any updates on your journey?
These tips are working and it hasn’t been a week I’m so thrilled that staying consistent isn’t and won’t be hard at all. I’m getting my voice back because of you and I’m so thankful and I hope your music career explodes because you’re extremely talented. Thank you Thank you Thank you, you’re a real one!
Awww so happy for you!!! Thank you!!!
I did some of the exercises along with the video and the physical sign of relaxation in the muscles surrounding my vocal chords was pleasantly surprising dude. It’s awesome you’re sharing your knowledge.
MTD is really no joke, I'm honestly beyond frustrated with this issue and the tension not going away, its like the muscles around the larynx are locked and refuse to let go. And its not like many "voice" specialist are that competent to treat this kind of issue, especially if tension is constant and not just a matter of vocal technique.
I agree it is so incredibly frustrating. Western Medicine doesn't practice the idea of the mind and body connection. I feel that MTD can be just that...perhaps an imbalance in our emotional minds that lead to an imbalance in the physical body. I hope you can find more answers. Try physical therapy, psychotherapy, yoga and meditation if you haven't explored these options already.
@@LizBills Oh I've tried psychotherapy and relaxation, sadly it can only calm my mind but the tension is still tightly locked. Its a point where I don't have a single sound out of my voice that isn't strained at least a bit and my vocal range is very weak, resulting in not being able to have normal conversations with people more than few minutes in loud places. I've seen that some speech therapists practice laryngeal massage with good results, don't know if you've seen that. Its functional (or muscle tension) dysphonia videos at cleveland clinic notably (Claudio Milstein is the guy)
@@lateralsx7 hey i have had the laryngeal massage and it is good. they also teach you how to do it yourself! I'm sorry you are suffering so badly :( Sending my love to you
@@LizBills if I remember one of your first videos about this a year ago, you mentioned yours was a feeling of burning right? Did you have tension affecting your range or just pain?
@@lateralsx7 hey yes burning pain. but my range wasn't affected. my vocal folds themselves are healthy, its the surrounding muscles that cause problems. so my range or tone quality hasn't been affected.
I started this exercices today. I'll give you an update in a month.
Week 1 update: I still feel some pain when I talk too much. But it has been more managable and for less time. Yesterday after doing the exercices I could sing for 4 minutes straight without hurting :)! Something that has not happened since 6 months ago
Tatiana Alfaro def let us know!
Omg I’m so excited! I started a few days ago and it’s already helping so much too!!
Update: Ok, so I tried this for a month. Yes! I Saw results :D. But then I stopped for 2 weeks , so pain and tension on my vocal chords turned back :( , so I will start again. For more effective results than mine: I think is better to do it in a row, no weeks interruptions and lot of self discipline :D ! but still this is great!
@@christiansanchez1993 Yes! keep doing it! :3 I saw a lot of improvement and also, I sang once, and don't know exactly how this is helping to my breathing but I saw an improvement on my vibratos :D
Tatiana Alfaro that’s amazing! I would def keep at it!!! It’ll get easier and easier w time
Thank you for the videos you've shared. I have mixed Dysphonia and can't find many videos to help. Your tips are very helpful and your voice is lovely.
marianne vennitti so happy to help xoxoxo
Great exercises Liz Bills! I was diagnosed with SD then MTD then back to SD. Since the medical community couldn't decide which of the 2 it was, I chose neither one! I listen to my body instead--most especially my mind, since I see and feel the connection between my thoughts/perspective and the intensity of tension in my body. Many of your exercises I discovered by research I did on my own and a speech pathologist I worked with for a short while. You introduced me to the "vacuum" exercise and I'm looking forward to adding that one to my tool-box of voice-freeing exercises and practicing it--thanks for that! You have a lovely singing voice and can hardly believe you ever suffered MTD--good for you!! Thanks again for this tutorial video and keep up the good work! MsECstreet :) P.S. - Hope you'll do a video on the effects of diet on the voice.
I seem to be hovering between a diagnosis of SD and MTD - different opinions from different specialists - so interesting to read your input. I recently stopped getting Botox injections and have been doing voice training and breathing which has led to some improvement. I am encouraged to persist through coming across blogs like this. Thanks for your input.
This video is getting me through an MTD relapse in the middle of a very busy voiceover season. THANK YOU, LIZ.
Officially diagnosed with MTD today and dysphagia. Looking forward to trying all of these ! Thank you for sharing. Amazing voice by the way.
Holy crap when I heard your voice I cant believe you got past MTD to sound so clear and amazing. I've been singing for a year and had a vocal coach at the beginning.. but I cant afford to see a speech pathologist so MTD has limited my singing every day. I hope I can get to where you are lol, thank u for the video I'll keep trying..
Devon James hey! You can recover! Practice these techniques and use the ones that work for YOU! Look into mental health treatment, I believe that mtd can come from anxiety, depression, worry etc. if you can’t afford it use these resources: www.tmswiki.org (helps me to deal w pain I have) and also the new app 29K is AMAZING! And free!!!
Also the chiropractor can help
@@LizBills thank you!! :)
@@goldenbey913 hey how are you feeling now, did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia? & how’d you do it
Hi, I'm a speech therapist and I m also recently started suffering from MTD. But my speech therapy work I have not specialized in voice therapy and I m more specialized in early intervention for the pediatrics. I'm so grateful for your video of the voice exercises.. thanks God for His mercy... because I have been going through much affliction because of this condition ...I look forward to complete recovery.
So happy to help you! I understand how scary mtd can be at first. If you need additional help I also teach vocal lessons - lizbills1@gmail.com
this changed my life !!
Forbes Heaton yay!!!!!!
I'm an aspiring voice actor, from Barbados. I think I've got MTD, and so I've been searching through lots of CZcams videos on MTD, from various professionals.. And though I'm not into yoga, I've, found a really amazing connection with the way you present your tips.. I've been practicing a little with your presentation and WOW!! I feels as if I finally really get it! I am REALLY inspired by hope now. Its like I now KNOW I can manage my MTD,, and possibly even sustain a significantly improved vocal quality and succeed as a voice artist!!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH -- I truly wish you MUCH success
omg so happy for you, so happy to help!
Did these exercises ONCE and it has already made a huge difference (made it through an operetta- and a hard one at that - without my voice tiring out, for the first time in my life! Thank you so, so much! :)
Alexandra Burris omg celebration!!!!! Yay!!!!!
@@LizBills Aw thank you so much! :)))
Thank you so much for posting this. I’m on the radio and have had vocal issues for 5 weeks now. I have hope now that the damage l suffered during a medical procedure may not be permanent .
I would def work with a speech therapist! I am sending healing vibes your way. The body is miraculous at healing.
My daughter is a speech therapist! She’s the one that shared this video with me!
Thank U, again! Eye KNEW there was way 2 healing, but frustration and impatience caused me 2 stop doing exercises prescribed by my speech pathologists. Eye have hope, now and am inspired again. These r the very things they told me 2 do. Starting NOW and contacting them right after the holidays. Thank u!
yes look at it like its rehab. def takes time and dedication but its sooo worth it!
thanks for posting these exercises.. Also a vocalist, guitarist and person who has struggled with this. These are definitely helping a lot! Also your singing is so beautiful and powerful. Hard to imagine you have had issues.
These videos have saved me. I am going on 7 years with voice issues. Spent 6 without a diagnosis. Now I am in medical school and finally diagnosed myself when I came across a book chapter. Then I went to ENT doc and he finally confirmed it is MTD. These videos have me in tears because I have felt like I didn't know why this happened to me for so long. I was a singer and have not sang in 7 years now. I would love to start again but I am scared. Are you available as vocal coach via online classes?
Hey Priscilla I am sorry I missed your message. How are you doing? Are you singing? I am not offering lessons BUT I am officially starting up this CZcams channel... I will release videos weekly or monthly (haven't decided yet) and I will also be offering a healing program.
Thank you Liz. I find it hard to find hope, with this will help me to not give up.
yup, another day, another video I've watched seems to push me in the right direction. Thanks, this is really incredible!
I’m so happy the videos are helping!
Great tips! I have been waiting for someone on youtube to post about this. I was diagnosed with MTD around five years ago and our experiences have been similar.
I want to add that a lot of what you are suggesting is actually resonating out the mouth (via the soft palate raising). You can plug your nose with the "v" sound and while vocalizing through the straw and there will be practically no air flow coming out of the nose: the sound will still come out freely. Too much airflow out the nose will impair singing as well. I believe that airflow out the nose needs to be minimized for efficient singing. Also, do you notice that when you do tongue out lip trills that all the air is coming out the mouth and not the nose? Try plugging your nose. I do agree that with m, n and ng there needs to be some airflow out the nose initially. The same applies to super low and high chest voice notes. Keep up the good work!
Luciana Foti hey so glad to help!! Yes I plug the nose with students who aren’t quite resonating through the straw.. and to correct nasal singing too. I’m glad you posted about this specific detail!! Thank you xo
Thanks for this!! This week I was diagnosed with MTD by an ENT…so looking forward to different exercises to help out!
Awesome, let me know how it goes
Your videos on MTD are amazing! i have suffered for the last few years with it. At its worst i could barely speak. I went to 4 different doctors and they all just told me to rest! It was so frustrating and i just felt like no one was listening. Eventually i managed to see a speech therapist who put me on the right track. It's great to know that someone like you is sharing practical advice on things that really do work! Im sure you will help so many others.
Dave Red yay!!!! So glad you’ve found your way. 🥰🥰🥰 I hope things change for future MTD sufferers
How is ur voice now?
@@deepaknaik5124 hey how are you feeling now, did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia? & how’d you do it
@@itsjen94 nop I'm still struggling with it .. any suggestions?
@@deepaknaik5124 Well have you been to speech therapy yet?
I just got diagnosed with this and reflux. Thanks for your tips and exercises, They are helping a lot :)
Hi it will help a lot if you stop coffee, alcohol, smoking anything that increases heart pulses. You need to massage the whole head were its tense. This is not just a throat/neck thing. Breathe to calm down during the day. This has to do with tension and not caused by singing.
Thank you so much for the posts you are doing and help you are giving. You have helped a dear friend start taking control of his own "acid reflux" journey. He also was misdiagnosed at first, and I finally got him to Emory and to students in ENT. And things changed overnight! They called him hours after I got him an appt 6 weeks in the future and got him in THE NEXT DAY. He was scoped and properly diagnosed, did get a procedure, then on to PT. He is recovering, and it is a journey. Keep working! And singing!
I can't thank you enough! This is fantastic information. You have an amazing voice!
Thank you so much for these videos. I was injured in a grappling tournament and fractured my thyroid cartilage. I assumed my hoarse voice and inability to sing, speak for long periods of time, etc were due to that. It has been 2 months now and I should be healed from the fracture yet my voice is not one bit better. I found out about MTD and brought it up to my speech therapist. I show all the symptoms. She has shown me some of these techniques and I will probably get properly diagnosed soon. I felt so lost for such a long time and really still do... But these videos and everyone’s comments give me a lot of hope. The fact that you can not only speak but sing gives me something to believe in. I hope I get to that point and can manage this illness like you have.
Hey. Did your voice get better?
Hi Liz I'm watching your videos and I think the thoroughness of your work is amazing. I ended up here out of fear of what a CT scan of my neck would do to my 60 year old thyroid gland with an enlarged right lobe and two small nodules discovered with ultrasound. This unusual pain I experience is in the front of the neck located around the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone. Voice seems to weaken now after 5 minutes of talking. ENT exam discovered redness in the vocal cords in December of 2019. She feels it is due to 4 to 6 cups of coffee in the morning. I was advised to discontinue my use of coffee due to acid reflux and I hardly ever burp. In fact I can't even remember the last time I burped. It began late spring early summer of 2019 with a rather extended period of aggravation.
Your videos are awesome for someone in my shoes.
Thank you. JP
Jack Pepper hey thank you and I hope I can help! I’d say 4-6 cups of coffee is probably a lot. I drink one cup a day of cold brew ice coffee because I live in New England, it’s very popular here... it is also less acidic to make ice coffee! I’d recommend trying cold brew ice coffee (I put water in fridge with coffee grounds over night and strain in morning) or id cut down to one reasonable cup a day. Just offering a suggestion Incase cutting all of the coffee out sounds scary or unpleasant. I really think it’s all about the balance.
This is one of the best. I've been having the worst, longest relapse and I have a directed VO session tomorrow so I'm doing these again now and it is easing the panic! Thanks, Woman. I also think it's so interesting how my flareups start with reflux but then my brain goes into fight or flight when it recognizes that we are in MTD mode again, and then I have full blown panic attacks. When you are in a panic attack, your brain signals your muscles to tighten to save oxygen, and then your larynx (or mine, anyway) squeezes and tightens up like rigor mortis. It's such a vicious cycle. I'm finding that gentle neck stretching or yin yoga is best, since I got super into doing a daily yoga flow this summer and overdeveloped my shoulder and neck muscles and that started to create pulling against my vocal cords and I couldn't close them all the way, which created strain again, and ... MTD again.
I also notice that when I'm having a flareup and it causes anxiety, I forget to breathe. Then when I'm reading copy (my version of singing), I am holding my breath to prevent my voice from cracking and keep it steady, which creates MORE tension. SO ... yes, remember to breathe. Even if there's tightness. Do your best to breathe normally.
Thank you for sharing Shannon ♥️ I’m so sorry you are having such intense fear and panic around your pain. Have you looked into treatment for your anxiety? I highly recommend doing this free pain program - TMSwiki.org cuz it helps you to work on not being afraid of pain, and to get your body out of the fight or flight response. Also meditation has been doing wonders for me!!! Helping my body find relaxation and my nervous system to realize that I am safe and there is no danger, no need to tense. ♥️♥️♥️ I am sending love and healing to you my dear friend.
I'm also a speech language pathologist, but not specificly for dysphonia. So this video is also for me very useful! Thank you!
Happy to help!
I love your videos on MTD Liz. I have been suffering with it for a year now, and all your tips are so welcome and theraputic, and work! Thank you so much for all you're sharing on this devastating chronic ailment for us singers. Love your singing voice so much also!!!!
So happy to help Abigail! I will officially launch this channel in Nov or Dec of this year and will release 1-2 videos a week, I hope I can help even more! xoxo
Thank you Miss Liz bills I am just starting to appreciate just how good you are
Thank so much for the help!!! God bless you and keep doing the good work🌼🌼🌼
Happy to see this new video, Liz! I did recover from MTD but found out it was definitely caused by GERD and bile reflux (when silent reflux turned into severe gastritis and esophagitis) so I ended up having to take off 4 months from voice work. I'm finally able to work but have lost a TON of range, get fatigued easily and sound hoarse. So now I just listen to my body and have gotten a side job so I don't wear my voice out, and I still do these exercises every day. I'm all about preventing an MTD relapse so when I feel the strain now, I stop. Thanks for having been there during the past difficult year and for being so encouraging and inspiring!
so glad you could figure out what was happening! i just listened to a podcast with the singer Seal and he has acid reflux that's affected his voice for a long time. he said once he went vegan he didn't have symptoms anymore at all. just throwing that out there incase you want to experiment. and yes preventative care is the best care, i agree!
@@LizBills Thanks! I just saw this and it's validating to know even the most successful artists have battled this. Brian Littrell from The Backstreet Boys, too. He and I had the same voice therapist. I have been eating mainly vegetarian with some eggs and salmon but no dairy, which helps. But I may have to try this! Hoping to get surgery, too, but it's been a looong road to get approved for it.
Hey Liz! I don’t have MTD but was looking for tips to share with my group who have Parkinson’s disease. I just couldn’t get my eyes off u and your tricks n tips!
I do the straw with them and humming in general from the yoga breathing background.
But am sure many more of your suggestions could help them too.. Amazing! Love your voice 💕
More power to you to keep doing what you are doing!! 🌷
Movement Mantra aww so happy to help thank you for the love! Xoxo!
Hello Liz, thank you for posting this series of videos. As most other viewers here, my throat hurts. I thought for the longest of time that I can treat this with ginger, lemon and honey, cough pills and ibuprofen. That's how I was treating all my previous throat problem. I have also tried resting my voice for 2-3 days. I now realise that my vocal chords cause this pain. It all started after singing in a choir with a loud band two months ago. I felt pain right after the concert, but neglected this and tried to talk my way through the pain ever since.
I have started doing the SOVT exercises that you recommend yesterday. I understand the principle behind them. You have explained this very well. I have the feeling that I am doing something wrong, as my vocal chords hurt now after 3-4 sessions. When I am using the straw I feel that the vibrations/resonance accumulate in my throat and not in the mask/nose area as you suggest. This, as you imagine causes pain. As I do not have access to a speech therapist in my city, I was wondering if you could give all of us a couple of pointers on how to project the sound in the straw so that we avoid hurting the vocal chords even more. Are there particular vowels or constants that we can use? Humming feels a bit better than the straw for me at the moment.
Is it to be expected that the vocal chords hurt at the beginning of these exercises and only after a week or so after they get used to the exercises there is improvement with the pain manangement?
Thank you so much for your help,
God bless you!
Sebastian
Sebi David Hey :-) I would say that if you feel discomfort in the straw do not use it. Use the method that works for you. You should try all of these methods and see which ones work. Can you start taking vocal lessons? Any bright vowels are better like a as an apple. we as in week can be bright. I will be starting a subscription service in the near future that offers one video per week so stay tuned :-)
Thank you. I've been suffering with dysphonia because of neck problems and its really getting me down.
Ali Moore I hope I can help xo
This is a super useful video, thank you! I also saw another of your videos, where you tell your story, and I am so grateful for it. I was an English conversation teacher for over 20 years until a few years ago I just couldn't talk any more. Speaking was just too difficult and painful. I had to stop work, and got a manual labouring job, and then developed osteo-arthritis! So the loss of my voice had a terrible impact on my life. I now teach just part time but feel the problems coming back. The doctor says it is probably acid reflux, but nothing I do seems to shift it. MTD seems much more likely, and I'll suggest it next time I see him. In the meantime I'm going to be watching a lot more of your videos, and getting some straws! Thank you so much and all the best with your voice and health.
Marcus hey it does sound like it could be MTD, try the videos w the straw and see what happens :)
Marcus hey it does sound like it could be MTD, try the videos w the straw and see what happens :)
I'm already trying it out, thanks to you! I'll give it a really good shot, for weeks, and let you know how I get on. I really appreciate all your videos. Thank you so much!
@@Marcus-ec1qk hey. Did it work?
No, it didn't, and so eventually I stopped doing the straw exercises. My throat is in constant pain, even when I'm not talking, and the effect it has had on my life has been awful. Along with the drop in income has come a drop in confidence too, a bit of a viscous circle. So perhaps I ought to get back to the straws... perhaps I didn't do it right, or do it enough. I'll give it another go. Thanks for the reminder!
Thank you for posting these. My husband is suffering from MTD after illness and oversinging through the illness. He is waiting to get PT appointments, so I'm hoping these exercises can help until then.
Sunny Day I hope so too!! Xoxoxo
Hey Sunny! I'm going through the exact same thing. I was recently diagnosed with MTD, but I'm super determined to beat this. I'm wondering how your husband's recovery went. Hopefully you get this as I'm very curious how it's gone for someone else who experienced a similar path to the illness. Thanks!!
@@cook-music hey how are you feeling now, did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia? & how’d you do it
@@itsjen94 I still have MTD and likely always will, but it's more managed now. My throat has been reshaped a bit and surgery is off the table so that imbalance will always throw off my chord alignment a bit. It was very rough for a while but more manageable now after about 2 years of dealing with it
OMG! Love the straw! It works! Lozenges cannot help me anymore. Thanks for this video. 👍👍
Hi. I have the similar experience. Pain started at 27. I scream death core music. Had to stop. Docs blamed acid reflex; gerd. Meds and no acid foods didn’t help. Had my tonsils removed, still no help. Docs kinda gave up. Doc did recommend voice therapy but never mentioned MTD but I believe I have this. My pain is worst at the end of the day. Been dealing with this pain for 3 years.
I would consider it being a consequence of screaming incorrectly. I would do speech therapy and make a full commitment to learning great vocal technique. melissacross.com/products/the-zen-of-screaming-digital-download#:~:text=The%20Zen%20of%20Screaming%20is,vocal%20warmups%20for%20all%20ranges.
You are such a life saver!! I saw all your videos and found them very helpful. I am also a singer and suffering from MTD. It is so frustrating not being able to sing, and people never really understand why I can't take phone calls for months!! Even hearing loud sounds make my throat hurt. Thankfully, I found an excellent ENT who checked my throat and immediately referred me to a speech therapist, who is also very good. He diagnosed me with MTD. Your exercises have helped me so much. I too have posture problem and back pain, but I live in India so there are many yoga teachers here from whom I can take lessons. Did your problem get cured completely? Does it come back once cured? I am so scared that I will have to live with it for my entire life.
Marcus Brutus that’s so great you are finding help! Will you have this condition your whole life? Maybe but probably not. I have friends who have cured completely!!! I am at a place where I hardly ever have pain in my actual voice now!!!! Yay!!!!! But I do still struggle with burning in the muscles in my neck and body in general... but working through this part of it now. I have loads of anxiety so my body is responding physically to that. But each year I over coming something and im always learning and growing. I hope this answers your question. I’d say I’ve overcome most of mtd and manage a full happy talkative and singing life! :) you will get to a place where it’ll no longer hurt to talk I just know it.
Thank you!!
@@Brutus763 hey how are you feeling now, did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia? & how’d you do it
Omg... we've got the same jaw, the same side that's worse, the same habit to sing out of our throats instead of our masks. I just started singing and had to stop dead in my tracks because I kept getting a sore throat and finding your videos is a God send. About half of what you've talked about I've figured out I need to do on my own (yoga, that neck massager you showed, moving while singing or firing another muscle group (I got that one from Miley, who's currently rehab-ing her voice too) the fact that it's how I'm doing it rather than that I'm doing it) and the other half I'm going to try (the straw, laying down and singing, meowing). I think it has something to do with our "type A personalities" as I've heard they're called--doers, over achievers, but we go go go and it's difficult for us to relax. Do you think you could do a video on how you "belt"? When I belt I tend to strain and I'm not sure how to refocus on what to fix it.
Aisha with an Eye yes they call people like us “hard tryers” haha :) oh wow I didn’t know Miley is rehab-ing her voice I’ll look that up! And yes yes I’ll put up a belting video for MTD because I love belting and I’m obsessed with it haha and have worked through it a ton over the years. All these exercises help so much, let me know how it goes! Xoxox
@@LizBills I'm already noticing a big difference and now I can see I was keeping my voice down/back because I felt self-conscious about sounding too feminine?... But I am a female! Wow! It's like, the reasons I hated playing house and Barbies are why I wasn't singing properly because I was rejecting what society thinks of as a woman. Miley on Instagram posted a video of her doing a wall sit while singing so she wouldn't add strain to her voice. I now do squats during my warm ups. I'm gonna get a nice booty and nice vocal chops now! I'm looking forward to your belting video!
Aisha with an Eye oh wow I’ll check it out! And yes mtd has a strong emotional component for sure. I often speak quiet and deeply because I am a very very shy girl... so learning how to speak louder and clearer and even more girly or preppy was tough for me.. I totally get that
@@LizBills oh yeah, there is definitely a strong "shy" component to my condition as well. When I try to sing in front of people my throat clamps up and I start apologizing profusely for how I can sing but I can't right now because [insert excuse]. It's helped me discover I need to avoid certain people and stay around those who encourage me instead. Learning to sing has been like reaching in the dark to find my soul or playing that "hotter colder" game, but in my life, especially with my relationships.
Aisha with an Eye yes mtd can be quite the gift for growth! I am also careful to not say somethings wrong with my voice anymore. Every time I worry about my voice health I just tell myself that I am completely fine and that my tension will not hurt me or damage my vocal cords. I’m the opposite when I go on stage I actually sing very loud and crazy because I want the approval and I want to be good enough. But it’s all the same just different colors. I’m so glad this disorder is helping you with your relationships and mental health like it has helped me!
You don't know how much this helped me. Thank you so much!
so happy!
Thanks for posting this. I was diagnosed with MTD earlier this year (after quite a while of feeling tense/hoarse while singing), I haven't made much progress but I'm going to try everything you've suggested and see how it goes.
Jen McPherson I hope it helps! Try reading the mindbody prescription too
Oh wow! I'm feeling so hopeful after watching this video. It is finally clicking what my speech therapist has been trying to tell me--to get the effort our of the throat area. You explain this so well, and your exercises are most helpful. Thank you so much for sharing!!
aww yay!!!!!! so happy to help :)
I'm struggling to decide which I like more, your spoken voice or your singing voice. They're both just...nice. Warm? Hug? Anyway, you get it.
Thank you for the larynx massage tutorial, it really helped me.
ditto aww haha I find my own speaking voice throaty and heavy and.. weird haha but everyone else finds it so calming so hey, I’ll take it! ♥️🥰
@@LizBills it's one of life's annoying quirks isn't it? That we invariably dislike our voices to begin with, and if we're lucky, become "okay with". People tell me I have a deep smooth voice, but recordings of me sound like a surprised and upset cow.
Peace yo ✌️
@@dittilio hey how are you feeling now did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia yet? & how’d you do it?
Thank you for your post I too have MDT and have been struggling for years. Speech therapy didn’t help me enough but learning about exercise to strengthen the neck and core has resonated with me. I will try immediately. 😊
Amazing Liz! Reduces my pain by more than half every time I follow you through this video.
I think you're great. Prettier than beautiful. Thanks coach for another awesome lesson. John
Thank you Liz! I resonate with so much of what you're saying and thank you so much for all the reminders :-)
That's punny
Wow Thanks this may be exaclty what i have. I done your exercises and immediately felt better.
chris john that’s amazing!!!!!!!
I really appreciated your video and it gave me so much to try! I was diagnosed recently with Muscle Tension Dystonia after not recovering from a long illness that has affected my voice. Nice presentaion! and glad you found something to help you too!
so happy to help!
I liked your video help. thank you. I am loosing my voice when I do on line counseling. I think I have multiple problems, not enough movement, air pollution, and I talk all day. Thank you.
I am talking for 5 hours today. It’s possible to get to a place where you can talk for longer periods of time without pain! :) I would focus on retraining your voice… look at it like going to the gym for your voice. It takes time to identify and condition the right muscle groups for speaking or singing. Katerina H on CZcams helps with speaking! I just released a video on a practice routine you could try daily to strengthen and retrain your voice… check it out, let me know if it helps with consistent practice.
Hey Liz, I’m a new MTD peep. Tears of joy when I found your YT 3 days ago. I have had MTD for almost 5 years. Singer, dancer, athlete, type A go getter…(to an extent) a mirror image of you and those you have interviewed.
In one of your interviews, you had a girl who mentioned a Miami doctor (lady)…anyways, I am in the Keys and trying to seek MTD help here whether it be vocal massage, coach, etc.
Any direction would be great!
I have come so far with since 5 years ago…I do your warmups and realize I can actually still sing. Couldn’t believe that! But…as for talking, well everything still tenses up around my larynx.
Another question…have you ever done acupuncture? I was going to try that. I have had relief with peptides, just an FYI.
I did have a stressful occurrence happen just before MTD, but I am also thinking a combination of wearing a night guard…anyways…
Would love your feedback and thank you for your information, your peaceful singing nature, and for helping so many. Felt so alone up until finding you…Malissa
Hey Malissa so nice to hear from you! Yes, I’ve heard that acupuncture can be so helpful! Any therapy that helps us feel good in our bodies and relaxed is beneficial. Unfortunately, the lady in Miami is not working right now, but I just interviewed her, so stay tuned, her name is Christina and I will be posting that video on my CZcams channel, so you can watch her story. I would recommend going to an ENT and asking for a speech therapist because that is what Christina is. :-)
Yes, many times a stressful occurrence can trigger the start of Mtd you aren’t alone. And I also wear a night guard but I’ve healed from muscle tension dysphonia and I don’t look at that as the culprit. Mtd can be a mind body disorder so often we have to do emotional work, and we also have to do the physical stuff like train with a speech therapist, and or a vocal coach. Just one step at a time!
I am so happy your voice is there and my videos are helping! Sending so much love to you.
Thanks so much, this is so wonderfully helpful. Your voice is 💜 incredible. I’m a singer as well and wanting to more with it professionally so it’s so encouraging to hear that other professional voice users out there who have this are still managing to have full on careers. Thank you xx
This was the most helpful video I’ve seen in awhile. Thank you
Thanks a lot, i can relate, i have muscle tension and had dysphonia during my band days.
Tips and exercises helped me a lot.
Excellent video and may I respectfully say that you are extraordinarily adorable and charismatic.
Time to get myself a straw. Thank you for the tips!
Your welcome! Let me know how you like it :)
Dear Liz, thank you very much for uploading such a good and explicit video about this illness! I’m also grateful to God that I discovered your video in an opportune time, exactly in my period of vocal therapy, suffering from the same illness. I’ve been suffering for many many years but only in February it was diagnosed. I’m definitely going to do your exercises, but it would be helpful if you could tell me how many times per day it is needed to have at least (!!!) a medium results. As far as I understand, you are constantly doing some exercises even if you are teaching (in children’s class). I’m not able to do it during my job, so, I would need to know this information. And also, for how many months is it needed to practice for “learning” to ‘normally’ speak; after how many months we can abandon the exercises, in other words, when this illness is cured because of these exercises?
Thank you!
God bless you! You have beautiful gifts!
Sebastiana M hey I would just feel it out. It isn't a one size fits all. So do what you can for as long as you need. I don't do these exercises much anymore honestly. Only if I am experiencing symptoms which happens sometimes if I'm stressed or overworked or sick etc... but it's possible to get to a place where you don't need them much anymore. In the beginning when I was first diagnosed and learning these exercises maybe I did ten min warm up for my speaking voice before work. I went to chiropractor 3 times a week for awhile.. and physical therapy. Eventually I just stopped needing all of these things.. I just felt it out myself and when I had less pain I stopped doing the exercises as much. I hope this helps! Xoxox
Liz Bills and The Change, thank you! 😘
@@m.sevastiani161 hey how are you feeling now, did you get rid of your muscle tension dysphonia? & how’d you do it
Great video. I was diagnosed 9 months ago after a respiratory virus after my dad died. It has totally derailed my life and caused major anxiety which I’ve never had before. It was a very acute onset. My speech path also suggested this mm mm exercise (like agreement with someone) and NG sirens. They are both done extremely softly after you breathe out all air feeling zero push from stomach. I’m still trying to improve.
How is it going? Are you feeling improvements? :)
@@LizBills it’s so hard to say because you start improving and then a day later it’s back to square one and you wonder if the improvement is all illusionary. I’m a singer but in my case, my speaking voice really wears out fast which in turn harms my singing. I do think those light exercises I was given help but as yet no real lasting measurable improvement. I said something mistakenly untrue before. I have had this for nine months but only diagnosed two months ago. It’s a total nightmare. It’s so weird, in my case, it makes my voice be able to hit higher notes than I ever have?? Yet, the lower and mid notes suffer including pitch at speaking.
that was very helpful!!!! You probably just saved thousands of peoples voices! Im sorry that happened to you and I wish you the best on your voice!
Beautiful, brilliant and amazingly done. Thank you Liz.
Thank you so much, you are giving me hope to be able to get back to singing. Glad to hear you are gigging too, wonderful
Sarah Chiari so happy to give you hope! There isn’t any reason why we cannot heal and I know you will heal just like I am healing! 😘
I’ve got this going on atm, I was so scared it was gonna be something much worse
Thanks for the tips very helpful
happy to help xoxo
OMG I MEAN IT REALLY MAKES THEM MORE TIGHTENED IN JUST A FEW MINS
try practicing for a few weeks and see if it changes for you.
Thank you so much for this. I recently developed MTD after a bout with respiratory illnesses. I'm working with an ENT and a speech pathologist, but it is very helpful hearing these tips directly from a singer and teacher, which I am.
so happy to help!
Thank you so much for this! You're so cool and this is super professional and has really helped!
Nyokee so happy!
thanks so much for sharing! I'm a singing teacher and some of my students have some minor tension issues so I was looking for some good hands on demonstrations to help me help them. This is what I was looking for! Thank you!
Maryanne so glad to help! Kids also love this www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IUNL24M?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title you have them stand on it and try to balance while vocalizing and it takes away a lot of tension. :)
It’s fun too!
This is spot on! Thank you for making this video!
You have really inspired me through your speech therapy. Feeling mentally relieved now.I have many vocal problems.I am not sure if I have MTD or not but your speech is relatable for me.I am from India.
Really looking forward to trying this out. I feel like you might have found my issue. I made a list of like 20 treatments I’ve trialled and nothing worked. Wanting to do my own work, my speech therapist just tries to “shrink” me and she costs a fortune and we do no physical work! I can’t! Thanks for taking the time
I’ll get back with result hopefully. It’s been years I’ve found my voice slowly getting exhausted. Here’s hoping
This is fantastic! Thank you so much for this video!
Amazing!! this is so helpful. thank you so much for putting this content out there..
Does this help to recover completely? It’s a self diagnosis for me. There’s no swelling but there’s tension when I talk so I’m careful when I talk. And some pain and discomfort. I’m not able to get one cuz my insurance is almost up. So I’m learning in my own. I’ve been to an ent 3 times. And he said I need speech therapy but i don’t have time before my insurance runs out. But I’m tired of talking and being careful. I don’t even remember what it feels like talking and singing with no issue. I’m hoarse sounding sometimes. But I don’t have nodes or polyps. They used to be swollen. I hope these videos help with full recovery. Thanks so much for these.
Thank you so much for sharing this video, definitely i will do all the exercises you suggest !!!
This is incredible! Thank you so much for posting this !!!
Your welcome! Xoxo
Wonderful advice and tips! Thanks so much! I will continue on my journey to a normal voice again.
Catherine Butt happy to help!!
Thank you. This was helpful and well done.
Thank you for such a comprehensive video
Thank you so much, Liz!! You're amazing. This is very helpful :)
Great tips and great video! The exercises are amazing and the help me a lot! Thanks!
this helped me tremendously, thank you so much!
your welcome! :)
you are just like a cat jumping around!! so helpful, get rid of my tightness in a minute! thank you Liz
🐈 ♥️💪🏻🥰
Did it go away for good? Lmk
So so so so helpful! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for your videos and spreading hope!
Wells Road Band my pleasure! I think Hope is one of the ingredients to wellness! ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks!
omg thank you so much!! you jest trully helped me to understand whats going on in my throut (with your story video) and those exersize are amaizing. truly thank you
Thank you so much!! You explained this so well and have given me great tips.
🙂
thank you soo much my dear friend .
i started feeling i can't speak and sing like other normal people , i learnt to play guitar by myself and i stopped playing bcoz it was hurting to sing. I thought it only happens with me , no-one was understanding me and today probably for the last time i tried to sing and play , and it hurt me again .
And i open your videos , see now i am happy and i will overcome this problem.
love from INDIA ❤️❤️❤️
Marshmallow Me hey you can definitely overcome! It’s all about vocal training and also about emotional health ♥️🤗
@@LizBills tysm❤️
How is ur voice now?
@@deepaknaik5124 i am healing bro. I had stopped sining from last 1 month , i only sing whenever i feel the fire and most of the time my voice is functioning well😊
@@marshmallowme7913 Great!
Actually even I'm having the same trouble .. it sucks to be a music lover & not being able to sing.
You are wonderful. Great help. Thank you.
This is awesome!
Thank you so much for the exercises!