Speaking in a Higher Range: Can it Hurt Your Vocal Cords?

[Clever]

Okay, so I'm not out at work.

I dress masculine, I have a masculine haircut, and I'm on T for two months now. Needless to say, my voice is noticeably lower than it was two months ago. But, I don't feel safe enough to come out at work, so I have to pretend my voice is unchanged.

I can kind of get it back into that high range, but I'm wondering: will this damage my vocal cords and prevent me from getting a smooth resonant deep voice in the future? I don't think I want to break my vocal cords and sound like a 15-year-old for the rest of my life.

[tjack77]

I'm sorry to hear that you feel unsafe to come out at your work.  I could relate to that as one of the main reason I did not transition earlier on was because of my working environment.  Going back to the voice thing, from my own experience, @ 2 months on T,  I sounded like I had a bad cold or sore throat, but somewhere between 3-4 months on T, my voice dropped so much that there's no way I can speak at a higher range without cracking and sounding like a 13 years old.  IMO, speaking with higher range at work isn't the solution.  You'd either come out at work, or change work place if you don't feel safe to come out there.

[makipu]

I am not sure about breaking vocal cords since I am already in a broken situation with my own voice but whenever I try the higher range, the voice varies between sentences and words. So it doesn't sound natural 100%of the time. BUT if you want to pretend and make your voice sound like it didn't change, simply speak in a low volume.  It can be hard to control since sometimes things come out spontaneously but this is what I have to do for myself if I don't want people to know about my changed voice.

[Ms Grace]

Yes it can damage your vocal cords. When I took voice training with a speech therapist several years ago she specifically warned me against using a pitch that was higher than my standard pitch. For trans women that damage is more of an issue since it would stop us from being able to sound female. It may not be so much an issue if you're aiming to eventually go deeper, but you should still be careful about how you modulate your voice - the vocal cords are quite delicate things!

[lionheart]

Regardless of whether or not it will damage your vocal chords, you're eventually gonna get to a point where you can't even try to speak in feminine ranges. If you're really concerned about this, maybe talk to your endo about going on a lower dose until you're ready to come out.

[Clever]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I am meeting with HR at work and making plans to come out. No use running anymore.

[tjack77]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I am meeting with HR at work and making plans to come out. No use running anymore.

Awesome!  Good luck!