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In a unique partnership,��Playbill��and ������쿪��ֱ�� have kicked off the�����ܳ��������series, “Centerstage with Healthcare Heroes.” In the��first installment, Broadway star��Telly��Leung (“Aladdin,” “ALLEGIANCE,” and the TV series,��“G�����”)��led a��discussion about��how people��can care for their voices, especially��as��many continue to��work from home. Joining��Leung��was his doctor,��Lucian��Sulica, MD, and ��Anais Rameau, MD;��both��are��physicians��at��the  .��

The following piece is based on the first “��event.

There are a number of ways people can protect their vocal cords��in a work-from-home scenario. One is to stay hydrated; you can keep a bottle of water��by your work area.����

Unfortunately, the��sound��quality of online conference calls isn’t great, so some people are��over-talking or��over-functioning��by speaking more loudly.��That can��eventually��create strain, so we encourage patients to use microphones so they can sound louder with too much effort. That goes hand in hand with the of headphones so we can hear well and modulate our voices accordingly.��

It’s important to��listen to our bodies, to��assess the quality of our voices on a regular basis so we have an idea of how we should sound and feel.����

Are there��specific��triggers for��vocal problems?��

Certain things can irritate the vocal cords��and�� cause��inflammation. Sometimes it’s the sheer quantity that the voice is used, but also at play can be allergies or the frequency of upper respiratory infections. Sometimes the trigger is the work environment itself, which can include inhaled irritants, such as dust or mold.����

For those patients whose vocal��problem is due to use,��it’s important we don’t give in to the tendency to “blame the patient”��for��the��problem.��After all,��we don’t blame the athlete who gets sidelined with an injury.����

Specialists think of some of the problems our patients face as bruises.��We’re��often��trying to��“de-catastrophize”��voice challenges in our work, particularly since many solutions to vocal problems don’t involve surgical intervention.��

Let’s hear more about that. What types of approaches are doctors using at the Sean Parker Institute for the Voice?��

We work with the whole patient, so we like to use a team approach. We provide a��, from inpatient and outpatient surgeries to behavioral therapy with speech language pathologists and vocal therapists.��

Some��people avoid certain foods because they can cause��acid��reflux—the regurgitation of stomach acid into the esophagus—which can, in turn, irritate the vocal cords.��Would you please address that?����

In truth, it’s all about balance. Many people avoid certain foods because they’re acidic. But there isn’t hard medical data to support that notion.��Though many��people��are told to��skip��or limit their intake of��coffee, chocolate, tomatoes,��or��citrus, that isn’t always��necessary. They’re fine��in moderation. (We��do��discourage��treating a voice problem with��vinegar, despite a��mistaken notion that it’s an effective��home remedy.)��

Here’s where food comes into play: if we eat a big meal before going to bed, gravity can induce reflux.��Having a��lighter meal before bed��is good idea.������

I’ve heard the term “vocal cache.”��What is it,��and how does it relate to caring for one’s voice?����

A cache—a reserved storage location—can be��a useful way to think about our��day-to-day��vocal��use,��both professionally and personally. It can help patients��become more aware of how we use our voices��and��how much��vocal energy we have left at the end of the day.����

If we have a good idea of our vocal cache��and wellness patterns, we��can take better care of ourselves. For example, if a patient knows that they usually throw off an upper respiratory infection in four or five days, but their voice isn’t bouncing back��and they don’t have the usual “cache,”��that��might be something��we need to��help them��explore.��