Quote from: Rachel on July 04, 2018, 06:27:35 PM
I have a question. Has your pitch decreased over time since the glottoplasty?
Geekgirl, you had rework and I think I remember it was to increase volume with Dr. Haban. Did the increase in volume decrease pitch?
I think I have read in many accounts that pitch increased over time and vocal volume increased to a point over time time. Is that correct?
I have a friend that went to a surgeon in Boston that had a 30% web. She is not happy because of a loss of vocal volume. I was at a restaurant recently and I could hear her fine. She sounds female 100%. She says she needs to project her voice in order to get the pitch she wants.
I am 7 weeks post op and my volume is getting better but still very low. I am still hoarse but a little better.
My rework was done because the web broke (split apart) the first time resulting in no noticeable change in pitch. The second surgery was successful. My pitch was noticeably higher in the first month or so after I rested and could speak, but I think the reason for that was my voice was so weak I could only emit very weak sounds. Over time, as things healed, I could speak with louder volume, but my voice just doesn't have the same nice timbre as when I speak very softly. So in my case projecting my voice makes my pitch sound lower and my overall voice more hoarse. When I speak softly, I have a Demi Moore quality to my voice and it is higher. I like speaking over the phone because my voice is amplified by the phone and I could speak very softly. I've had many strangers tell me that my voice is quite nice.
I teach yoga and depend on my voice to teach. Sometimes halfway into my class, I feel my voice straining and I go into conservation mode, meaning I try to keep my volume at a much lower level to conserve energy and not wear out my vocal chords. I always try to teach with my headset on, but sometimes I teach without it, especially in smaller classes, to maintain a more intimate setting. On days I teach two classes back to back, the second class is a great strain for me because my voice is already hoarse by then. It usually takes a day or so of rest for my voice to return to an non-hoarse state. I'm two years post-op VFS, so I'm pretty sure this is probably what I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. I have no regrets with the surgery. I'm sad I can't sing anymore, but I feel hopeful as I sang, with great effort, a scale the other day. My high notes sound awful, as if my vocal chords just don't vibrate properly at the high end.