HRT & Losing Lower Voice

[ClaireA]

Hey All - So I know that E hormone therapy has been shown not to cause any voice changes for MtFs, but I guess I have been experiencing the weirdest thing: I don't seem to be able to hit a low voice as easily anymore. I was at my transphobic employer today in a meeting, and I tried to say something in a low voice, but it just didn't come out.

I've always had a very dynamic vocal range, being able to hit fairly low all the way up to the tippy-top of the male range, but it seems to be getting harder and harder to hit the lower stuff. It's not like I'm gaining anything at the top end, but I just seem to be losing some of the lower range. Along with this, I've found myself singing at an octive higher than what I usually sing at, and my male voice now seems to default to a range higher than it usually did before. Some of you might say that it's the practicing of my female voice that is causing me to "lose" the lower ranges, but it isn't - I developed a good voice a few years ago but haven't really used it TOO much in the past year (probably should get on that )

Not that I really care about this, but it's just something I found interesting and seems to go up against what I've read about HRT & vocals.

Anyone else have anything like this happen?

[Janet_Girl]

It may be that your voice area of your brain is being rewired to just the higher ranges.

[Tamaki]

I'm having similar expierences and wondered the same thing. What I've discovered is that during times of stress my deep voice returns. This makes me think it's psychosomatic. Too bad there's no funding for reseach into this kind of thing.

[VeryGnawty]

Too bad there's no funding for reseach into this kind of thing.

For what it's worth, I've been doing my own experiment in attempting transition using naturalistic means.  I'm not on HRT.  But I've also noticed the same thing that you describe.  My voice has become a bit higher in pitch overall, but there are times when the low tones come back.  In fact, I've been getting this sort of yo-yo effect where my voice will go back down to where it was before, but when it stops doing it I can speak at a little bit higher pitch than previously.

An interesting observation I noticed a few days ago is that when the voice reverts back to the deeper tones, they are actually coming from higher up in the throat than they were previously.  I don't now if this happens to you, but I've been observing this consistently for the last three days.  I have a hunch that this unusual phenomenon is the key to understanding why the voice seems to flip-flop rather than remaining at any particular resonance.

The human vocal system is extremely complex.  I'm not sure if I can come up with a good theory for why my voice seems to be doing this.  The data is insufficient.

[Tamaki]

An interesting observation I noticed a few days ago is that when the voice reverts back to the deeper tones, they are actually coming from higher up in the throat than they were previously.

That's a coincidence, I feel like high in my throat it's tighter even when I'm using my lower voice and it's more of an effort to go really low.

I don't notice the yo-yo things with my voice but I've always done that especially when I'm talking to women. Getting coffee in the morning I swear I'm talking like a girl, even my wife notices it but she says it subtle.

[VeryGnawty]

That's a coincidence, I feel like high in my throat it's tighter even when I'm using my lower voice and it's more of an effort to go really low.

That's interesting.  I also have a tighter feeling near the top of my throat.  Actually, most of my larynx feels tighter than it used to.  I've also had the same problems maintaining my lowest range.

We need more anecdata.  Then I can try to apply it to my experiment and come up with a theory.

[ClaireA]

That's so true - my throat feels tighter! When I try to open it up for a deep voice, it just feels tight and the sound just comes out as air.

Btw, VG, I'd like to hear more about your "experiment".

[Rock_chick]

If i try to make my voice lower in pitch i struggle immensely and even if i do manage it i tend to sound like a girl trying to sound like a man.

[VeryGnawty]

That's so true - my throat feels tighter! When I try to open it up for a deep voice, it just feels tight and the sound just comes out as air.

I don't know about sound coming out as air.  But one thing that I did notice is that it is easier to produce an "airy" sound to my voice.  My voice used to be so deep that it was hard for me to talk in a low volume unless I was whispering.  But now I can talk much "softer" with my normal voice.  It is another side effect of whatever has been happening to my voice over the last couple of months.

Btw, VG, I'd like to hear more about your "experiment".

I try not to talk about it in the HRT section too often, as I don't know enough about the variables involved in the experiment to know how similar it is to people who are taking HRT, or even if I will achieve the same types of results.

I update my observations and thoughts in my blog.  If you scroll down to the blog section of the main forum page, my blog is called Experiments in Metamorphosis