As a vocal athlete, aka a singer or actor, your voice is your most essential and important asset for your livelihood. Yet, many of the elite vocal athletes that I care for have never seen their vocal folds or they only see urgent care for vocal emergencies or illness. Some flat out don’t want to know “what is going on under the hood” as ignorance is bliss or they may fear the dreaded nodes!
However, the reality is that no professional athlete or dancer is permitted to participate without a physical. Not because teams or companies are looking for something wrong, but rather it establishes a healthy baseline, develops a rapport with a medical team of specialists, identifies potential problems before they become career-impacting problems, and allows for preventative wellness and training to be implemented.
Vocal athletes should consider this same model with a well-reputed voice care medical team. Finding and establishing a medical voice care team for yourself as a vocal athlete should be an investment you make just like your headshots and gym memberships. So who is on the team, where do you find them, what should you look for, and how often should you see them? Here’s what you should know about how to find the right team.
Who
These are the members of the medical voice care team. You may have one or all of these people as part of your team.
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These are medical doctors who are otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat physician or ENT) with additional training in laryngeal disorders which include voice, upper airway, and swallowing. Not all laryngologists work with professional voices, as some are specialized to upper airway and swallowing specifically. This physician member of the team treats medically (i.e. prescribes medication) and/or surgically (i.e. performs surgery). Think of the laryngologist as the orthopedic surgeon in the sports model. You can learn more at the American Medical Association (AMA).
Voice Pathologist (speech pathologist specializing in voice or voice disorders)
These are speech-language pathologists (SLP’s) who have additional or specialized training in voice disorders. Some have training in singing voice as well. The voice therapist member of the team evaluates and treats physiological aspects of voice disorders. They will provide preventative vocal wellness, vocal rehabilitation (i.e. rehabilitation of vocal injury and/or post-surgery rehabilitation), and/or vocal crisis management. Think of them as the physical therapists of the sports model. You can learn more at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA).
Singing Voice Specialist
In recent years, the term singing voice specialist has emerged. It’s used by both speech pathologists who specialize in voice disorders as well as singing teachers, who are not medical professionals, who may have additional coursework or training in habilitating voices that have a prior vocal injury. It’s important to note that singing voice teachers should not be providing vocal rehabilitation nor providing medical advice to vocal athletes. Rehabilitation is the restoring from injury to function and habilitation is the training from functional to optimal. The use and designation of the term singing voice specialist is non-regulated and is not associated with any certification or training program.
Where
If you’re a vocal athlete who has a home-base, it’s recommended that you consider starting with a laryngologist or voice pathologist where you live. If you’re a touring or transient vocal athlete, you may want to establish a point of care in a city or state where you enjoy visiting once a year. The visit to the voice care team for well-visits should only be a once a year occurrence as a check-up on your vocal wellness.
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So what should you look for when seeking these individuals? When you see an ENT, if at all possible, look for one who is a fellowship-trained laryngologist. This should be listed on their credentials and they should have an active state medical license. It’s important to be aware that a laryngology fellowship program did not exist before 1992. Therefore, many fabulous, well-known voice specialist ENT’s who were and still are practicing before 1992 don’t have this fellowship as they were the pioneers in the field establishing this sub-specialty. This can be verified by checking the AMA and your state licensing board.
When seeking out a voice pathologist (SLP), you should ensure that they have their Certificate of Clinical Competence, as well as active state licensure. This can be verified by ASHA and your individual state board of licensure. You also want to look at their background and credentials to ensure that they have additional training and expertise in the area of voice disorders which may include additional degrees in vocal performance.
If you want to have a singing voice specialist on your team, know that there is no verification or licensure for them.
As a caution to vocal athletes who are seeking care, there is a lot of misinformation and self-promotion or marketing on the internet. Be diligent in choosing your care team. Get a second opinion. You are the consumer. Good voice care teams will help you find a second opinion as they want you to be better and satisfied. Remember to ask questions.
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The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
