Not THAT kind of 'tool,'....perv.
I'm a voice actor. My main tool is my voice. So what happens when your tool doesn't work anymore? Or isn't working at 100%?
That's where I find myself at the moment as I've been dealing with a cough for the last 2 weeks. Coughing is one of the worst things you can do to your voice. But as a human, it's inevitable right? You HAVE to cough once in a while and coughing occasionally isn't really something to lament to the heavens about when you're a voice actor, right? But what if it's deep, pulling from the bottom of your lungs, sling-shotting into your skull and right out the top, type of coughing? THAT'S what I've been dealing with for the past few days. (OHHHH the head pain!) It started out innocent enough: some light post-nasal drip probably brought home by one of my kids from school. No biggee. Kind of annoying but not deal-breaking. Flash to a couple weeks later and I'm sitting in an urgent care clinic lobby, at waiting room minute number 27 just trying to get some antibiotic in me. 'Cause that's how it goes for me. I don't get colds, I get sinus or bronchial infections. What's kind of amazing though is there was only really 1 day over this past 2 weeks where I couldn't fully use my voice. Other than that, it's been pretty solid with barely a noticeable drop in voice quality. Could be because I've been pretty good about staying hydrated (hot water with lemon and honey!), maybe because I've been constantly doing the 'straw method' to strengthen my vocal chords? Who knows? But when you get a respiratory or sinus infection and you're all gunked up, it can be a major pain in the soft pallet if you're a voice actor. And I'm in a 'sick state' where I'm not knocked down on my ass, vegging on the couch all day with a warm compress on my head. It's one of those sicknesses where I have moments where I feel like I can do some work and then there are moments where the body just needs to go horizontal. It's frustrating. Luckily, I have some clients who are understanding and patient. Now if I can just get this damn cough to hurry the hell up and get outta here!
Some quick tips that have worked for me if you find yourself (as a voice actor) dealing with a faulty tool via the sinus or bronchial sickness.
- Drink LOTS of water or non-caffeinated tea. As I mentioned above, I like to pour a hot cup of water, mix in a teaspoonful of honey with a splash of lemon juice. Tastes good and provides a nice coating on the 'pipes.'
- Get plenty of sleep. My belief with being sick is during the day, I'm fighting it: medicine to get things moving out, any salves or voodoo serums you have. At night, I sleep. That means I take whateveer it is I need to shut down the cough and get me to sleep. When you're sleeping, you're healing.
- Go into your bathroom once a day (more is preferable), open up the shower at full heat, let the bathroom steam up and then sit in there for 5-10 minutes while taking some big deep breaths.
- If it's a cough, menthol cough drops are your friend.
That's it. If you have any other tips, please put 'em in the comments below. Good luck and get better!
UPDATE: November 9, 2022. I've since been on some steroids for about a week and things are SLOWLY getting better but, lo, not fast enough. The prednisone kicks my ass in that it screws up my sleep and can make me jittery.