What are the symptoms of voice damage?

Voice damage means more than just losing your voice. Voice conditions are revealed by the following symptoms:

• Pain, leading indirectly to a change in voice tone or quality.
• A sore throat.
• Tension, leading to change in voice quality.
• Swelling of the vocal cords, leading to a harsh or deeper tone.

Voice specialists agree that drinking tea and coffee all day can have a damaging effect on vocal cords. Caffeine is a diuretic, encouraging the discharge of liquids from the body. Like any other soft tissues, the vocal cords should be moist but are likely to become dehydrated. If you are also not using your voice properly, so that it is already under strain, then speaking with dry vocal cords for extended periods of time is likely to cause injury. It's like not having any engine oil in your car.