Voice affectations after thyroidectomy

I had a lobectomy just over 5 days ago and my singing voice in the upper ranges has completely disappeared. I sound like Micky Mouse's mother. I can just about sing in the very low ranges. Hopefully this will be temporary. At present I am looking for a vocal coach and have also contacted the School of Music for advice on exercises. Having read some academic papers, the recovery time on average seems to take about 3 months - there may be nerve/ muscle paresis due to the sheer trauma of the surgery so you should expect loss of singing voice. Do speak to some-one who has expertise on the matter for proper advice.

I had a thyroidectomy 4 weeks ago today. My voice is still very hoarse, feels like I have a sore throat and tire easily while speaking. I was hoping someone out there has some sort of home remedy that might help.. I have been drinking tea daily;  & was using cough drops 6-10  times daily, but realized that they made me feel more scratchy; maybe I made it worst with the cough drops? I do not know. My Dr. just tells me it will take time, here I am 4 weeks post-op and I cannot return to work yet due to my voice. ( I work in social services and speaking is 80% of my job). Anyone out there have any successful home remedy which works?

Frustrated in Arizona

I had a partial thyroidectomy on my right lobe 6 months ago to remove a begign nodule. Surgery went well, easy recovery, no scarring. I was assured by several doctors my voice would return to normal. I'm still waiting. I will tell you that anxiety ( I suffer from terribly ) makes it worse and my once a day .5mg xanax helps tremendously. I also feel like I get choked alot on liquids. Anyways, thats my story. :-)

My thyroid surgery was three and a half years ago. Speaking voice is a little stronger. But still can't sing. I have seen several speech therapist ans each had told me, they could help with any thing but swollen cords, and mine are still really swollen. If you get help, PLEASE let me know

I had a complete thyroidectomy in 2010. My voice was really bad for about 3 or 4 months after surgery. I use to sing but mainly I have always had complete control of my voice for my sales career. I no longer have voice affectation. I have very little range at all. I went to an ear nose and throat specialist and they told me that I have complete paralysis on the right side. I can yell if I go low instead of high. I am learning to have a new control over my voice with practice. It will never be the same as before but I no longer have the cancer that started this to begin with. If you can get out of having surgery and you need to have complete control of your voice I would honestly say don't have the surgery. My children are still young and it was more important to me that I didn't let the cancer grow. I guess it is really a choice of what you are capable and willing to live with and without.

 

Hi Arizona,

It is still rather early after your surgery. I had the same problem. Cough drops dont really help at all. Tea is good because of the warmth honey keeps any bacteria away while you are healing. It does take a while. Start slow and practice going low instead of your normal voice. Good luck.

I am 6 weeks following a total thyroidectomy and I have no musical range.  I have liked to sing all of my life and hope I can hit middle c again!

I am not a singer, but had a very nice voice. After the operatoin 3 years ago, my singing voice is gone. I wish I had done something right away with it. Now I don't know where to go to fix it.
And to tell the truth that depress me.

My daughter is pursuing career classical singing/opera and has a small indeterminate nodule with genetic testing puts her in a risk factor of 30-40%, so thyroidectomy is recommended. We will try to seek the best surgeon that has her voice being #1 concern, how is your voice a year later? did you have testing on your voice before and after ? can you recommend the surgeon you used? Really appreciate your help on this.

Hi,in 2000 I had a partial thyroidectomy,the right side and the ishmus. I have never needed thyroid meds per blood tests. I used to sing and could hit high notes,now I can't and have to sing much lower. Also,I used to call my cat,kitty kitty in a high voice now I can't.

What kind of vocal exercises did you do? I would like to know.

Hi there. I'm a singer 2 weeks postop for total thyroidectomy. Admittedly discouraged I would rate my singing voice change as a 6. I can no longer hit any notes outside of speech range. Not even in falsetto. My speaking voice was soft and raspy the first week but is now normal. When I sing, I sound like an adolescent male! Lol hoping for improvement with retraining.

Has your vouce returned to normal yet? I had a total thyroidectomy on feb 18 2014 and I can barely speak. Eveyone thinks im sick snd I am just sad a depressed, I ontbeven want to go in public, I cant talk on phone, nothing..

I had a total thyroidectomy almost 3 weeks ago. I am a singer. I informed my surgeon that I didn't want him to "ruin" my singing voice! I knew about the potential danger of the surgeon cutting the laryngal nerves that would make my speaking voice hoarse for life and ruin my singing voice for all of time! But my surgeon told me that it's often easy to visualize the laryngal nerves during surgery so he can avoid accidentally severing them! The main risk with this type of surgery is trauma to the parathyroids which become "stunned" during the surgery when blood supply to them is temporarily interrupted in order to remove the thryoid. So I had to eat Tums 4 times per day to make sure I was getting enough Calcium(which is controlled by the parathyroids). Two weeks after surgery I am down to just one Calcium(Tums) per day. And taking Calcium and Synthroid(the thyroid replacement hormone) is tricky because if you take them together(not recommended) the Calcium will inhibit your body's ability to absorb the Synthroid! OH and taking 4 Tums per day will likely cause constipation(especially if you are also taking medication for pain!) so do yourself a favor and also take an over the counter stool softener!

 I had all of the normal soreness after surgery from the intubation tube that they insert in the operating room to assist with breathing during the surgery. My initial sore throat went away after about 4 days. 

For the first week after surgery clearing my throat, blowing my nose and attemtping to cough were all very painful. But that pain lessened and went away completely after the first week after surgery. I slept upright in the recliner for about the first 5 days after surgery since laying flat on my back nurt my neck too much. I also drank gallons of herbal tea mixed with honey!

Regarding singing, I had expected my speaking voice to be a little hoarse after surgery and it was. My speaking voice was weak and my singing voice almost non-existent. But after a week and a half, I my speaking voice was sounding normal again, and my signing voice was there but limited range(no high end).  Now, after almost 3 weeks I'm noticing that my singing voice range is improving. I still don't have my complete range back yet on high notes but I'm able to sing higher notes this week than I was after only 2 weeks post op! So I'd say it just takes time to let the throat heal after the trauma of surgery. I have read other places that it took singers 2 to 3 months to get comfortable with normal singing and to get their ranges back to pre-surgery levels. So I'm very pleased with my surgeon, the results, and my ability to sing some post op! As others have noted in their posts, I don't have the same power in my voice yet. Yelling is still very difficult to do which my wife appreciates!! Hope all of this info helps someone!! Don't give up hope and give you body time to completely heal!!

I had a tt just over a year ago, I still cant sing, I dont have any problems talking , although sometimes my voice sound very deep....I was hoping to see some improve by now, but there hasnt been..:[