Voice Feminization Surgery With Dr Haben

[Eva]

I donno I cant figure PRAAT out

My voice was and still is my biggest challenge...

Its been healing good though and Ive noticed its pretty easy for me to talk in the female range now where as before I could only do that with a TON of effort...

I still have an annoying male resonance and I unfortunately can still go pretty deep with it... That resonance seems WAY easier to control now though... I still have no falsetto voice yet but in this recording Its easy to talk in the 200-260hz range 

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0l1cQsEsHj0

For 3 weeks post op I think its pretty good, Im hoping to see a bit more of a rise in pitch and Im sure I will...

Its hard for me to get my prosody and inflection right just talking to my computer... Talking on the phone to women and with my girlfriends however is different story and when its right I can just feel it and when its wrong I can also feel it... Its going to take time to learn to modulate pitch and get the resonance right but I do notice my brain is at least letting me know when its right now... It FEELS better, pretty cool 

At least now though the real deep BASS is GONE though, got a new guy Im gonna try it with and see how that works out 

[ImagineKate]

You sound like you're healing up really good, Eva!

One question, did Dr Haben do it all endoscopically or did he make an incision? If he did, is it visible?

[Eva]

Hi Kate, no incisions here

One month today.... Much better but still hopefully more to come... Im kinda disappointed I can still go as low as I can but its not healed all the way yet... Id hope as it heals and I get used to talking in the higher range the low end will just disappear... It still comes and goes, but there have been a few times the top end has cleared up that really give me hope this is gonna be good   Its neat because if I use the same muscles in my throat that gave me my old voice the new one is WAY higher... Its still not healed yet, when it does Im really looking forward to working on it

http://vocaroo.com/i/s06vLW4nFsPr

[warmbody28]

wow. your really sounding better and better every time

[Eva]

Thanks Im hoping for a lot more high end as it continues to heal 

[anjaq]

I think if one really wants to go low, it will always go rather low, though not as low as before, but low enough to be in a male range - the key would be that the relaxed speaking voice should be much higher, as this is what is used daily. Many women can go really low in the voice if they force it, so that is maybe not the best measure

[ImagineKate]

You actually sound pretty good. Not super high but I would gender it female on the phone. I'm wondering though why dr Haben only tied off 1/3 of the vocal chords. Dr Kim/Yeson seems to tie off more, I think Jenny had 1/2 of hers tied off. The laser also seems like it would increase healing time.

But it's still a pretty good result. Looking forward to your 3 month and beyond!

[anjaq]

I also think for a 1 month is is pretty good. considering Yeson patients are just barely allowed speaking again after that period of time - so most recordings from Yeson petients are 2 months post op.

AFAIK, at Yeson, Dr Kim also usually does a 1/3 suture but no additional laser treatment. For somy mysterious reason this seems to work. In some cases however he recommends the 1/2 suture, Jenny had that and I think a very few others. Usually 1/3 seems to be enough, but it seems individual

[ImagineKate]

I think if one really wants to go low, it will always go rather low, though not as low as before, but low enough to be in a male range - the key would be that the relaxed speaking voice should be much higher, as this is what is used daily. Many women can go really low in the voice if they force it, so that is maybe not the best measure

Hmm. In the Yeson thread, J-mi was trying to go low and she sounded like she couldn't. It sounded really like a girl trying to sound like a dude and failing in the worst way possible.

[anjaq]

Well - low and low may be different - lets say you start with a voice like mine - lowest possible is 80 Hz, relaxed talk is at 120 Hz, trained speech is at 150 Hz or more. After VFS I would expect my lowest end to be maybe 130 or 140, relaxed speech could be 190 Hz. So if I really want, I could go to the low end at 130 Hz and be in the same range roundabout where I had my pre op relaxed voice, but it would be as weird as me going down to 80 Hz now. Plus the timbre changes, so it does not sound the same as before.
Thats how I imagine it. But I can only tell you for sure in some months

[Eva]

Thanks Kate, I guess I have a hard time thinking Id ever be gendered female on the phone, BUT I just was TWICE ...

Anjaq what you describe is kinda where Im at, I really think its getting better slowly

I talked to my brother yesterday for the first time since I saw him about a year ago, we used to have very similar DEEP voices... It was a relief knowing he's OK with me now but what was really a relief was knowing I can NEVER sound like him again ever He was blown away by my voice LOL 

Heres where its at right now, it feels pretty good today and the falsetto is there but still a bit weak... When I have the full upper range it sounds a lot better and I cant wait for it to get stronger and heal more... My old absolute highest pitch speaking was about 350hz I just did like 480hz in falsetto here Its not great but there is no more break between my head voice and falsetto... I think it will only get better from here

http://vocaroo.com/i/s13l1XtcMPUu

[ImagineKate]

Wow you sound pretty good, Eva!

[ImagineKate]

Hey Eva, happy new year. Any updates? How's the voice healing up?

[Eva]

Hi Kate

Thanks and I hope your New Years plans were good

Im just now recovering after getting REALLY wasted at a very fancy historic hotel last night 

So here I made a quick recording, not too bad considering the shape Im in right now

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wSr1Wlpo8X

[warmbody28]

I think your voice sounds ok. Do you think it would have made any differene if he did the CTA with yours?

[Eva]

Thanks    From what I understand a CTA does about the same as using the same muscles to raise your voice but they get locked together permanently.... Im sure with a CTA Id have a higher pitch all the time.... Its unpredictable and the pitch can lower in time with a CTA as well... Im still healing but when the upper range is there and clear its very easy to use it with the same muscles I used for my old "trained voice"...

It was an effort to really raise it before and I could comfortably get by I just hated it and if I wasnt careful it was easy to slip up and use my very deep male voice.... Its better now, if I slip up its more like 130hz instead of 100hz... I used to be able to get down to 50-60 hz, now I can get to about 100hz, I gotta really try hard though...

There is no real break now between my chest voice and falsetto... In fact Im not sure I even have a "chest voice" at all anymore, my chest doesnt vibrate at all when I talk anyway... The fact that I was a HEAVY smoker for 31 years has something to do with my deeper voice Im sure and it might even limit my results... 

Still a lot of healing left and Im hoping for more but Id be happy with what I have now... I could still do a CTA if I want too... Im planning on having a trach shave and a neck lift/tightening in late February... Dr Haben advised against a CTA and trach shave before FFS because he would have no way to predict how the scar on my neck would turn out... Dr Speigel actually trained as an ENT and he uses a scope in the throat to make sure he doesnt damage the voice... I told him Id like a less aggressive trach shave in exchange for 100% certainty Id not change my voice...

Dr Haben said he was confident this is all I would need and Im optimistic that will be true in the end and I learn to use my new voice in time 

[ImagineKate]

Thanks for the update, Eva. I hope it all works out for you.

[warmbody28]

Eva that's a very detailed answer. Thank you. Your results I think still sound good. Kinda like if you went to Korea. Plus you have no scar

[Eva]

Thanks Im my own worst critic and people do tell me "it sounds good" I guess I just dont believe it...

Ok today is 2 months post op voice feminization surgery...

For the most part Im happy with it so far but still a bit disappointed... Id love it to be just a bit higher, its in the lower female range but there is still a male resonance I dont like...

The doc did say THREE months minimum for the final results though so Im hoping for more improvement to come... I understand that Yeson has restrictions on talking for the first two months and his patients see improvement up to a year out... I guess I just have to just be patient, not one my strong suits 

Still as of right now its definitely a lot less worry about my voice It used to be really hard and now I hardly ever think about it...

IF it doesnt end up higher there are still things I can do surgically to tweak it a bit higher but Im hoping to avoid that...


http://vocaroo.com/i/s1WsvGC4o3MS

[akegia]

Wow Eva, you sound great I would do anything to have a voice like yours.