Care of the Professional Voice
The physicians at the New York Otolaryngology Group, national experts in treating voice-related problems, understand the needs of a diverse range of professional voice users. The livelihoods of lawyers, business professionals, teachers and salespeople rely heavily on the use and qualities of their voices. Caring for the vocal health of singers, actors, and other voice-dependent performers is especially challenging as even subtle vocal changes can be devastating to a performer’s career. Among patients entrusting the care of their professional voice to the NYOG medical team are members of the Metropolitan Opera, the theater and film community, pop musicians, and others.
While hoarseness, a potential sign of throat cancer, should always be medically evaluated regardless of the patient’s profession, any vocal changes should concern professional voice users because of the potential effect on performance. We deploy the most current diagnostic and treatment techniques to address distressing vocal changes. Proper respect for the patient’s voice is essential. Unless we detect a tumor, we find that surgery is rarely indicated for most patients, and in many instances inappropriate surgery can be damaging to the voice.
