Vocal Fatigue, Fitness Instructor Voice Screenings, New SOVTE Research, SinCity Laryngology 2025, and PYV!
Enjoy some educational & inspiring blog reading & be sure to roll your shoulders & focus on slow/light/deep breathing as you do! Make it a GREAT day. YOU are worthy and YOU (and YOUR VOICE) are BEAUTIFUL. #DONTFORGETIT 
Vocal Fatigue's Impact on Muscular Tension of the Vocal Folds...
What parts of this statement stand out to you?…
Vocal fatigue, increased muscle tension, more time taken to complete the vocal fold vibratory cycle….?In other words, vocal fatigue is quite literally defined as INEFFICIENCY.
Vocal fatigue causes (vocal) inefficiency, and (vocal) inefficiency causes vocal fatigue.
WHY allow our vocal foods to be inefficient?
Our goal is ALWAYS vocal EFFICIENCY.
That’s how we UPHOLD our occupational-related voice demands.
That’s how we REDUCE vocal effort.
That’s how we PREVENT vocal fatigue.
That’s how we can EXPECT good vocal quality and use patterns despite vocal demands required of us at work and otherwise.
HOW CAN WE PRIORITIZE VOCAL EFFICIENCY?!
With all that we need our voices for in our day-to-day lives, it’s unlikely that vocal efficiency will just magically happen. Or maybe it will until something causes an imbalance in the vocal subsystems (whether this be allergies or an illness or stress or less than ideal sleep or higher than normal vocal demands or…the list goes on….). But likely, vocal efficiency may unfortunately be something we take for granted on the regular. UNTIL we can’t anymore (maybe because vocal fatigue is rearing its ugly head..?)…
Are there ways we can PRIORITIZE vocal efficiency?! YES. On the daily? YES. Every hour? YES. Every time we speak? YES.
AWARENESS is incredibly important. How do you PRIORITIZE vocalize EFFICIENCY to PREVENT vocal fatigue? Do you have a plan? Do you need help? Get at me
Choose vocal efficiency. CHOOSE YOUR BEST VOICE.
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#voxfit #voice #prioritizeyourvoice #vocalfatigue #vocaleffort #vocalefficiency #healthyvoice #vocalhealth #vocalwellness #vocaldynamics #speechpathologist #voicespecialist #fitnessinstructor #prioritizeyourhealth #vocalinstrument #occupationalvoiceuser
Fitness Instructor Voice Screenings...
Studies recommend routinely screening the voices of fitness instructors and following standard vocal hygiene tips at a minimum (Philip et al., 2021).
Fitness professionals use their voices to instruct, guide, & encourage individuals/groups in exercise/workout activities which encompass cardiovascular exercises, stretching, & a variety of strength-based methods. Instructors perform vigorous exercises& instruct at the same time, AND compete vocally with loud background music as it facilitates rhythmic movement during exercise/workout activities/classes. Extensive previous research (including my own x2!) displays a high prevalence of voice disorders in this population of occupational voice users,& a lack of voice-related training to these individuals who have very high vocal demands.
The study by Philip et al.(2021) identified SIGNIFICANT CHANGES in the perceptual & acoustic voice-related parameters of fitness instructor participants AS COMPARED TO non-fitness instructor control participants. The significant changes in these parameters lend to changes in voice as a result of occupational voice use& related demands,& imply that this population is at risk for developing voice problems (again, I just love it when research overtly demonstrates what we know to be true, especially as related to this population so near & dear to my 
). Therefore, it is recommended to SCREEN this population of occupational voice users (& ALL occupational voice users in my opinion!!
),& as the research quote mentions, it’s also recommended that these fitpros PRACTICE standard VOCAL HYGIENE TIPS at a MINIMUM.
The study concluded that EARLY IDENTIFICATION & PREVENTION of voice problems in this population is warranted. AND WE KNOW THIS. This is my PASSION & MISSION through VOXFIT®️! This is also why I have created a course (#linkinbio ) specifically for fitness professionals to educate themselves on all things VOCAL FITNESS with a focus on VOCAL HEALTH, EFFICIENCY,& DYNAMICS. My mission is to teach #fitpros (& ALL occupational voice users) to advocate for themselves so they do not become “one of the statistics” relative to heavy voice users with a voice disorder. To help them LEARN the POWER of taking CARE of the voice,how to speak & project with EFFICIENCY,& how to utilize vocal SPICE to engage a room full of clients..
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#voxfit #voice #fitness #research #occupationalvoiceuser #vocalfitness #vocalhealth #vocalefficiency #vocaldynamics #prioritizeyourvoice #fitnessinstructor #speechpathologist #speechpathology #voicespecialist #poweredbypassion
New SOVTE Research!
Research highlights the beneficial effects of SOVTEs using a free end tube (straw in air) in improving acoustic characteristics and glottal performance in dysphonic adults. The technique ENHANCES VOCAL
FOLD COORDINATION, REDUCES TENSION, and PROMOTES EFFICIENT PHONATION.
(Asadollahpour et al., 2025)
SOVTEs showed IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS in acoustic and auditory perceptual measures for SLPs with vocal fatigue, making them a PROMISING SHORT-TERM INTERVENTION (Nayebian et al., 2025). However, this study did show that while sustained vowel analysis revealed significant changes/improvements, connected speech analysis did not show similar improvements, which highlights the importance of assessing REAL WORLD VOCAL FUNCTION, which may require longer duration of training to yield the same significant results… In my opinion, this is EXACTLY where the beautiful combination of SOVTEs AND CTT (which targets the way we use our voice during actual conversations) will create the most functional improvements.
I always LOVE staying up to date on all and any new research related to SOVTEs.. I believe in them so much, have seen their objective benefits during stroboscopy exams (in realtime!— so fun!), and have seen/heard their subjective benefits in the voices of clients and patients alike.
Which ones are you consistently using? Are you aware of the benefits in only two to five minutes of practice? So simple and so effective. Have you created and committed to a routine? And if not, why not? #yougotthis #getatmewithquestions … anddddd #prioritizeyourvoice
#voxfit #voice#sovtes #sovt #semioccludedvocaltractexercis
SinCity Laryngology 2025!
As ALWAYS, cheers to another AMAZING @sincitylaryngology conference!!!!! This is my favorite conference every year and I absolutely LOVE all the learning, collaboration, catch-ups with colleagues, shared PASSION (for voice/airway/dysphagia/HNC), and FUN.
Continuing education is a non-negotiable for me and I try to PRIORITIZE it as often as I can. I truly believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t growing… AND it’s REALLY important to me to never be stagnant and to ALWAYS keep GROWING. #growthmindset ALWAYS. I prioritize this conference every year because it’s my FAVE and it provides the laryngologist, ENT, and SLP perspectives on alllllll of my favorite topics—voice, airway, swallowing, and management/treatment of head/neck cancer. It relays and encourages the beauty of the collaborative model in treating these patients as well, which is also one of my PASSIONS. Additionally, it is always guided by research and includes extra courses too (an incredible voice symposium, TEP workshop, and other MD-focused workshops). There were SO MANY awesome talks this year!!!! PLUS IT IS IN VEGAS, which is always a high vibe energy and fun (although WAY DRY and still quite smokier than I prefer
). Can’t tell a lie, I ALWAYS bring my @vocalmist… andddd this year we talked about how we wished we had a humidifier in our room so highly likely we might bring that next year too ha ha
I always take some pearls away from this conference, but my favorites this year we’re probably:
new grounding & mindfulness strategies
+ jossle sign
trigger point release techniques
petiole deviation indications
body mapping techniques
shar pei larynx
importance of DISE
lots of new cool research on SLN blocks
lots of cool new research on cilia and mucus
the role of cough acoustics in prediction of dysphagia
esophageal A, B, and C rings
HNC survivorship pearls
Mizumi at the Wynn and Yellowtail at the Bellagio are tied for the best sushi!
For any friends who haven’t been to this conference yet, I HIGHLY recommend. Can’t wait for next year!
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#voxfit #sincitylaryngology #continuingeducation #speechpathologist #voicespecialist #lovemyjob #poweredbypassion #larynxlove #voice #dysphagia #upperairway #headandneckcancer #vegas #alwayslearning #alwaysgrowing #gratefulheart
PYV: Anddd of course, always REMEMBER to PRIORITIZE YOUR VOICE! ...
How are YOU prioritizing your voice today? And everyday? As an OCCUPATIONAL VOICE USER, it SHOULD be one of your top priorities!
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What do you need to know to keep your voice healthy? You should understand how the voice works, how to protect and care for your voice, and how to use your voice and entire vocal mechanism in the most efficient, effective, and dynamic ways possible.
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I’m super PASSIONATE about this population of voice users (I’m one and most of you are too!), and am HERE TO HELP! Reach out with any questions, concerns, or if you’d like to work together. Email me at [email protected] or DM me on @voxfit_ ...
#prioritizeyourvoice
Author
Sara Davis, M.A. CCC-SLP
Author
Check out the Meet The Founder page for bio!