weak voice (Page 1)

I doubt that you have a physical malady. What do you think makes your heart beat faster around people?

Can you describe the fear?

Btw, if you observe people, you will notice that their voice gets louder with the size of their ego.

In addition to this, I have observed that the pitch of my voice changes depending on who i am speaking to, particularly when speaking to my parents.

My voice tends to get softer when I speak to people that I care for, and louder when i am not paying attention to the effect that my speech has on others.

I have the same issue! And I think it's when i don't yet feel comofortable with someone. When i am, i can get very loud ha. But hope things are gonig better for you. I gained some more insight about myself from reading your post and it's good to have someone to relate to.

Just keep telling yourself that you are confident and that you the world to hear what you have to say and know that you are friendly. Then gradually telling yourself to speak up and clearly, it should hopefully come automatically. That's what i'm going to do!

I have a very similar problem. Some days I wake up with a clear and strong voice, but other days I will wake up and it seems like I just can't speak loudly, my voice is really shaky, and it seems like the louder I speak, the higher pitched it gets. I have an especially hard time speaking in a low tone, like on an emphasis in a sentence or a word. It ruins my day when I get this, and every night before I go to bed I pray that my voice is good the next day, especially if I know I'm going to be in a highly social setting the next day. Even on a good day, my voice has never been the one to carry, especially in a loud scene, like a bar or a concert. I don't know if there's a relation here or not. It's very frustrating and just want some answers! I want to feel confident everyday but with such a weak voice I lose all my confidence. Any suggestions??

Just happened upon this site. Wow, didn't know so many people were in the same boat with me. High pitch and shaky. Can't figure out if it is physical or emotional. Have been on anxiety medication for 20 years and have recently tried botox shots to my vocal chords. None of that helped. Has anyone tried hypnosis? I know my insurance won't cover it and it can be expensive, but I am desperate. I hate talking on the phone, in front of groups, any type of confrontational moments because I don't think my voice represents me. I come across weak.

I''ve got a similar problem as well. Anyone find any solutions?

No but I''m going to find one. I have the same symptoms and am only 49 yrs. old.

I''ve the same symptoms too. I don''t even remember exactly when I began to have them because I''ve always spoke clearly before.
Now I''m still wondering if my lack of confidence is due to my unreliable voice or if my problems began because of social fear.

I think it's due to anxiety as the problem gets worst in professionnal situations: for me it's a total lack of saliva in this situation. I don't remember having this problem before. So it can hardly be a coincidence.

The solution is to regain confidence. But I'm still wondering how I lose it?? I don't remember anything special happenened.

i have the same exact problem! i feel like i have 4 different voices through out the day sometimes depending on who i'm speaking too, or sometimes just depending on what my voice wants to sound like. i didn't know this many people could relate. i think it has something to do with anxiety because i never remember having this problem until about a year ago. when im drunk surprisingly my voice just flows smooth as ever and i can speak loud and clear. but that is probably only because when I'm intoxicated I feel like I have the whole world at my feet, haha that's a different story. but can somebody please help , i just want one good steady flowing voice.

Same with me! When I am drunk, my voice is great! It has gotten so bad that sometimes I think about (or just do it) drinking the night before- even if by myself, because I know the next day I have to be in a social and/or professional setting. It's frustrating, because I want to move up in my career, and speak with higher professionals with clear ease. I lose friends and avoid making new ones, because my voice causes me to feel and act awkwardly, when I've never been that kind of a person.

talk to your doctor about social anxiety and generalized anxiety disorders, and tell him or her about your voice shifts in pitch,tone,and volume.. Tell him/her how your body feels inside and out, and take stock of what kind of situations happen for your voice to play tricks with you. This is a defense mechanism for people with high anxiety issues, it is sometimes accompanied by a panic attack. I have suffered with anxiety for several years, and this happens to me even with medication. It takes step work with medication for them to be affective.

i know that you can exercize ur voice and strengthen it that way. weak voice can come from being a quiet person, or just not talking for a long period of time. if you practice talking to yourself, and talk alot, it should help strengthen your voice. your voice runs on a muscle, so it is the same as when you dont work out for a long length of tome, you get out of shape. that might be what is happening to your voice.

I have same problem. Recently I have more weak voice than strong ones. It really affects my social life and makes me insecure in a lot of ways. Please share the solution with me if anyone found.

I am so glad I found this site. I thought I was the only one but there are so many people who can relate. I believe it is stress related. Mine started while I was working in a high profile situation about 3 years ago and continued from there to the point where I couldn't work anymore. I have seen an ear, nose and throat specialist and he has examined my vocal chords and voice box and all is well. Some days it is better than others and I find if i keep feeding myself positive affirmations it doesn seem to get a little better.
Other days its like I am missing a lung and my voice is shaky and it takes a lot of effort to even hold a converstaion.
If anyone has any remedies that can help, I would be so greatful.

I have this problem too! If I speak to someone I know well, my parents for instance, my voice is normal but whenever I meet someone new or if there's a lot of people around (which means a high sound level) my voice almost dissapears and I can barely hear myself... and this happens on all days, not just on some days. It's really a huge problem in my everyday life....

I'm glad I have someone to relate to. This affects me daily, and I feel like if I try to talk about it I'll sound crazy and nobody will understand what I'm trying to explain. Crying and exercise where breathing is heavy will ALWAYS lead to a bad voice for me. Very, very frustrating.

I have the same symptoms, my voice shakes or I can't get my whole word or sentence out without my voice fading out. I saw an ENT who said it's probably psychological and I could get voice or breathing training. But, it's not like that would be covered by insurance. I try and figure out when it happens and I do think it's stress and/or anxiety related, but not all of the time. Wish there was more info. on this!

iv been living with this problem for as long as i can remember and it ruins my social life basically,, so i decided to look it up and stumbled across this, its good to know that im not the only one with this problem. Any one have any solutions yet ?

To all of you with voice problems:

Years ago, 22 to be exact, I had cancer in my left vocal cord and it had to be removed. After the surgery I whispered. Little by little my voice got stronger. Of course, not like a normal voice but a horse one. People always asked if I had a sore throat. I got used to that and didn't bother me too much except when people smiled when heard me speaking. Normally I wouldn't feel different than others. I understand what some of you said about staying home affraid of interacting with friends, socializing. Don't be! After my surgery that was my first thought but I talked to myself and saw that I had only two options: stay always indoors and never see anyone anymore, or go out and live as if nothing had happened. I realized that the first option wasn't an otpion, was as dying but being alive. Of course that wasn't me...so, I made the decision to face the world and be proud of who I was! That's what I've done for 22 years. I've had people telling me: "You are an inspiration!" That made me so happy because I realized that I made the right decision. When face our problems head on our possibilities are inimaginable! I have lived a normal life, not affraid of what others will think about me and have had many wonderful things happen in my life. I realize now that when we don't fell less than others they won't notice of what we call "disability". It's amazing how we put blokages in our own road just for being affaid! It's all in our own mind and only there!! Now my voice that I considered about normal, (it was to myself), started to get weak again. I have no idea why other than the level of stress I've been through lately. I'm still going to doctors to get to some conclusion. Apparently there's nothing major other than an mild irritation in my throat. Again I'm challenged by the "disability" that seem to follow me around! Again, I won't bow to it !! I will fight and be a winner. I have family, friends, lots of people that love me and can't see the difference between me and them. Why should I?

Good luck to all of you!I hope my experince may help others to not be affraid and just be happy!

This has been interesting reading, but no one yet has mentioned the effects on a weak voice the morning after a good drink.
On those mornings my voice is much more resonant and, more importantly, it's effortless.
Does anyone else share this?

Hey jings,

I've just stumbled on this forum and read your post about how your voice is better the day after a good drink. I too suffer from the same weak voice issues (for the last 7 years or so now) which is really annoying. I do agree with you about having a better voice the day after I've drunk a lot the night before, but only if I’ve really pushed my voice while I was drinking. If I’ve been out drinking in a group situation and have really pushed my voice to be heard, my voice is definitely a lot better the next morning / day. But when I drink at home with my family while watching TV or in a quieter situation, even if I have the same amount to drink, my voice isn’t necessarily better the next morning unless. So for me I think it's pushing my voice hard (which I probably don't do in noisy places unless I'm drinking). Is that your experience or is it whenever you drink the night before regardless of how you use your voice?

same experience, the benefit is definitely more pronounced the day after drinking out in noisy, loud environments (where i'm forced to push my voice moreso than usual)

in fact, it's worked so well that i've now resorted to scheduling my nights out around anticipated speaking engagements.

this coupled with a strict daily regime of deep breathing (pranayama etc..), tongue trills, and lip rolls, has helped me maintain a somewhat acceptable voice presence - though i'm still seeking for a more sustainable long-term strategy. (i'm now wondering if more vocal/singing exercises may be the answer!?)

on a side note - i find that my voice is almost always hoarse after any sort of physical activity (e.g. cardio, lifting weights, sports) - anyone else experience that?

Guys,
I think that I have a solution to this voice problem. My voice started failing me about 2-3 years ago which seemed like a lifetime. If I think back what might have caused it in the first place, the only thing that I can think about is that I was majorly embarrassed in a boardroom. I was just being myself when I got embarrassed and as a result of this I though being myself is not good enough to this world. Slowly I started becoming less of myself and more of what I presumed others would like me to be. You can see where this is heading. My shattered self image and low self esteem since this event became a downward spiral. At the end of the day I was someone that is not truly hence had a voice that is not truly mine, faint. The doctor said that I must quit smoking but smoking had nothing to do with it. It is truly a mental issue. If my mind caused this to happen, so could my mind fight to get this right again.

Now, you will not believe this simple solution. If you feed your subconscious mind with positive facts every night before you go to sleep, you will become those positive facts. It is called reprogramming the subconscious mind. Say to yourself, "there is nothing wrong with my voice. My voice is normal. I can speak the way that I have always done and I am becoming better and stronger every day." Believe in this and most important believe in God. Ask him for help every day and thank him for your voice that He had already fixed for you. Finally, you need to start believing in yourself again. Screw the rest of the people because you are unique and there is no-one else like you. BE YOURSELF. There are a lot of people out there who loves you and believes in you! In fact, trying to be someone you are not takes so much emery and people can sense that from a mile away. Be yourself and they will like you better.

Lastly, you need emery to do this. This is very very important. Take vitamins daily with Ginseng in it. This will lift your energy levels to mentally overcome you problem.

I know that it was hell to live without a voice every day. I wanted to hide from everyone, even my family. I pushed people away from me because of constant embarrassment. Don't do this. They love you more than anything else in the world. Find you balance and embrace yourself. Love yourself and believe in yourself. Take small steps every day. One you have your voice back, you will realize that you are stronger in character and personality that you ever were. Remember that there was a reason why you had to suffer. You had to find something deep inside of yourself. A new level of confidence and self believe. You can overcome any evil that comes your way.
Also try to free yourself from negative emotions like irritation and anger. Be patient and you will heal.

Believe in God.

Thanks for the advice. Although for me, it's not JUST in stressful/anxiety provoking situations. For example, my voice was fine this morning, I was happy, confident, and I went to go work out and as I was leaving the gym, I went to say bye to people, and I opened my mouth to speak and out comes this weak, stressed, and strained voice. Caught me by surprise. Now I am at home, and even an hour later it is still like that, and I'm all by myself.

I feel that for me it is definitely a mental issue, but I also feel like there is a medical issue as well. There are times when I'm around my parents or significant other- who are the people I am most comfortable around, and my voice, for whatever reason, will decide to do this. I pray for good voice days. People just don't understand the list of things it keeps one from achieving in life.