Your cold symptoms are gone, but when is your voice actually ready to sing again? Feeling better and being healed aren't the same thing—and that gap is where vocal injuries happen.

This episode delivers a concrete return-to-singing protocol: three readiness tests, four recovery phases, and specific guidance for when you have to perform anyway. We also tackle that frustrating "lump in throat" sensation that lingers after illness and the cough/clearing cycle that keeps inflammation going.

The singers with long careers aren't the ones who push through everything. They're the ones who know when to protect their instrument.

🎤 The Singing Email: www.voicescience.org/free

Presented by Drew Williams-Orozco

Written by Josh Manuel

References:

Fried, Marvin P., and Robert T. Sataloff. "Acute Laryngitis." In *StatPearls*. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing, 2024.

Kaneko, Mami, Koichi Tsunoda, Masaki Hayashi, Shoichi Satoh, Hiroyuki Ozaki, and Toshihiko Komatsu. "Wound Healing After Phonosurgery: A Study Comparing Voice Rest and Voice Training." *Journal of Voice* 30, no. 6 (2016): 775.e11–775.e14.

Kim, Gwang Ha, Moo In Park, and Won Moon. "Globus Pharyngeus: Clinical Characteristics and Relationships with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease." *World Journal of Gastroenterology* 18, no. 16 (2012): 1877–1883.

Rowley, Howard, Kevin O'Dwyer, Peter Jones, and Michael Walsh. "The Natural History of Globus Pharyngeus." *Laryngoscope* 105, no. 10 (1995): 1118–1121.

Sivasankar, Mahalakshmi, and Ciara Leydon. "The Role of Hydration in Vocal Fold Physiology." *Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery* 18, no. 3 (2010): 171–175.

University of Minnesota Lions Voice Clinic. Readiness assessment protocols for post-URI vocal recovery.

Whitling, Supriya. "Voice Rest and Voice Therapy: A Prospective Comparison of Their Contributions to Postoperative Outcome After Phonosurgery." *Journal of Voice* 32, no. 5 (2018): 574–580.