| When I first set out to write this article about | | | | After a few short minutes in my office we're |
| voice problems in singers, I was looking for two | | | | usually able to get to the deeper problems, |
| experts from contrasting fields of medicine - | | | | emotional "baggage" that may have been with |
| "medical" and "holistic". What I found, instead, in | | | | them since childhood. |
| the first practitioner that I interviewed, was a | | | | This brings more relief, the fact that someone is |
| delightful mixture of the two. | | | | listening to them and understands them. I've |
| The following biography of Dr. Brian Hands was | | | | heard many times, "How do you know so much |
| taken from the website VOX Cura, his Toronto | | | | about me, when we've just met?" |
| clinic. There is a link to the website at the bottom | | | | Another joy for me is facilitating, for these |
| of this article. | | | | singers, the cathartic release of their pain through |
| "Dr. Brian Hands, M.D., FRCS (C), is a member of | | | | singing. |
| the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in | | | | LD: What are the most common vocal disorders? |
| his field of laryngology, sits on the Board of the | | | | BH: Muscular tension dysphonia or supraglottic |
| Canadian Voice Foundation, is a member of the | | | | hyperfunction - excessive muscle tension in |
| Voice Foundation in the U.S. and is on the editorial | | | | muscles above the larynx. Common symptoms |
| board of The Medical Post. | | | | are pain after singing, inability to hit high notes, |
| Brian Hands' life-long passion for the arts, | | | | difficulty in passaggio (transitioning between the |
| combined with his medical practice as an ear, nose | | | | different registers of the voice), constant clearing |
| and throat specialist, has led to a growing practice | | | | of the throat, pain in neck and head and tightness |
| among performing artists of all disciplines. He is | | | | in the jaw. |
| voice consultant for the Canadian Opera | | | | LD: What's a myth about singing that you'd like to |
| Company, Stratford Festival, the major theatrical | | | | correct? |
| companies, Mirvish Productions and the former | | | | BH: The myth that some people should just |
| Livent as well as major record labels." | | | | mouth the words because they "can't" sing - with |
| I hope you'll enjoy reading about Dr. Hands and his | | | | training anyone can sing! |
| work treating singers with voice problems. | | | | LD: What happens when a singer comes to your |
| Linda Dessau: Why did you decide to focus on the | | | | office for treatment? |
| voice problems of singers? | | | | BH: We take an extensive physical history, find |
| Brian Hands: As an ear, nose and throat resident, | | | | out about any allergies, examine the neck and |
| options for training in taking care of voices is | | | | throat, and look inside the mouth by using either a |
| limited. After a few years of practice, a board | | | | flexible or rigid endoscope. Frequently we use a |
| member of the hospital where I was working | | | | sophisticated video exam called a |
| offered me the position of voice doctor to the | | | | videostroboscopic evaluation of the larynx. After |
| Canadian Opera Company. I quickly became | | | | all of these procedures we decide on a form of |
| fascinated and passionately excited by | | | | treatment. The most common course of action is |
| performers who use their voice - the purest | | | | reassurance that there's no structural damage to |
| sound a human can produce. I loved doing it. At | | | | the vocal cords, coupled with talking about the |
| that time, in Toronto, CATS and the Phantom of | | | | underlying emotional issues that are bringing on |
| the Opera were beginning their production. Touring | | | | the physical symptoms. Sometimes treatment |
| singers from all over the world would call the | | | | involves speech therapy, and occasionally speech |
| Canadian Opera Company for referrals if they | | | | therapy and medication. It's rare that a patient |
| had voice problems while they were in Toronto; | | | | needs surgery. |
| eventually rock singers, movie people and theatre | | | | LD: Is a vocal disorder a lifelong issue? Why or |
| people from Stratford all started being referred. | | | | why not? |
| This is the work I get the greatest enjoyment | | | | BH: No, because once someone has mastered the |
| from, and I try now to limit my practice to only | | | | proper breathing technique, they'll eliminate the |
| voice problems. I identify with the strong | | | | physical symptoms that lead them to the clinic in |
| emotional aspects involved in performing; I love | | | | the first place. Breathing needs to establish a deep |
| the creative arts. | | | | connection between the 3rd chakra (solar plexus) |
| I believe in taking a mind/body/soul approach and | | | | and the 2nd chakra (creative energy) by planting |
| use elements of energy work, chakra therapy, | | | | their feet firmly on the ground through the 1st |
| color therapy and yoga. I find the performers find | | | | chakra. With those connections in place, the |
| these approaches easy to relate to. | | | | patient can deliver a breath from the 3rd chakra |
| I start with a Western medical method of taking | | | | with inspiration from their heart (4th chakra) and |
| a patient's history and doing a physical | | | | then to their 5th chakra (larynx, throat chakra). |
| assessment. And once that's done, I deal with the | | | | Often, the trouble is that the spiritual connection |
| emotional and spiritual aspects of the person. | | | | (7th chakra) has been broken and their intuitive |
| I appreciate that my clients see me as | | | | center (6th chakra) recognizes this. And thus |
| non-threatening, like a friend - not a conventional | | | | there is a backlog of energy at the 5th chakra; an |
| doctor who just wants to label them and get | | | | incoordinate activity with too much tension in the |
| them on their way. I see them as a whole entity | | | | area around the larynx (leading to the muscle |
| and not just as a medical problem. | | | | tension described earlier). |
| Most voices DON'T have pathology, or a physical | | | | LD: What are the three most important things a |
| ailment. The singers are so relieved to hear that | | | | singer can do to prevent vocal disorders? |
| their vocal cords are fine! | | | | BH: 1. Breathe correctly 2. Drink lots of water 3. |