Dear fellow asthmatics(especially to the guys out there), Does this ever happened to you? Happens to me all the time.
The phone rings, I answer hello. The person on the line says..Hello…Mrs Gaudet ?… may I speak with Stephen please?.
Or here’s another; The other day I get a call from the NIH regarding some clinical trials that they were doing. The first thing out of the lady’s mouth was ..Is this your normal voice ? I can tell you’re the person I want to talk to, just by your voice ….. You have what we call… “inhaler voice” . Geeze…. I didn’t know there was a scientific name for it!
One of my favorites though, is this comment that a Youtube viewer left after watching a clip of me and my cat Winston…
“Holy? shit. I saw the 3rd and then the 2nd Winston videos. When I saw the first, I saw that you were a man. I never saw that one coming…btw nice cat!”
And it’s not just during telephone conversations or comments that people leave on my videos, this happens to me CONSTANTLY!, especially when I meet people for the very first time. It’s always the same response. Either they will look at me kinda funny or they’ll just flat-out ask….”Is this your regular voice?” Every single one of my doctors asked me the very same question when I first met them, and every time I have to go to the ER for treatment and meet a new set of doctors, guess what?………
Yes, and even Dr Wenzel, bless her heart, asked me the voice question.
OK….so for the record, YES…this is my normal voice! I know it’s sounds kinda raspy and hi pitched, but I promise you that I’m really a guy and this is my real voice. I’m pretty sure it’s due from 50 years of sucking on inhalers. My vocal cords have probably remodeled…just like my lungs.
Hmmmm. I think I’m gonna add this to my “Silly Asthma Questions” list.
You might like these posts as well:
A matter of timing
30 Things About My Invisible Illness- Questions for Dr. Wenzel
I always thought you had a unique voice from your vids–I never really attributed it to anything, though, or thought much of it.
I would never have expected you got so many questions about your voice though :-/. It's just not generally something I, personally, think about either way! People sound how they sound [ex. one of my best friends sounds like a cartoon character. I didn't notice until she pointed it out, and she totally does].
Also, I'm likin' the looks of that breathing stats sidebar! I hope it continues
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stephen this is soooo funny i always get hi is your mommy home i say THIS IS THE MOMMY!!!!!!!!! sounds like your havin fun and feelin good i'm sooo envious i live just out side of salt lake city and its a red day and thats not good????? well enjoy you night marsh
Ok, so I'm not a guy, but I don't have this issue. However, one of my friends from high school, who is pretty much my only real-time asthmatic friend, totally has this (she's a girl, but she is crazy raspy). Apparently it's a known side effect of inhaled steroids, and symbicort is notorious for doing this to people. I just went back and watched your neb video, and you sound different, but not really in a weird way!
….I'm pretty raspy too…it's just me & everybody who knows me knows that's how I am, but people in shops love to tell me to 'go home and nurse that cold, dear'. Oh Lord, stop calling me dear as well!!!
Can't we all just be our unique & wonderful selves? Having this illness sucks at the best of times, I'm not aware I need to sound totally dulcet all the time. And I'm pretty darn good-as a trained musician and singer and teacher I know how to best treat my raspy vocal chords, but gee-Steve-you sound just like you-and totally lovely with it, ok!
Danielle-I had the camera down my nose/throat thing done-what's it called again, Steve? to check my vocal chords and was told the raspyness is because inhaled steroids cause them to shrink so the air rushes through a gap and they never quite meet when they vibrate. I have lost some of the top octave of my singing voice and never sound clear, always a bit coldy, but hey, I'm just me!!
The rinsing gargling process we are all reminded to do can prevent this to a degree.
Inhaler voice-pah!
We could start calling people 'smokers breath' or 'eau de alcoholic'. It would probably hurt as much!
Hugs
Sus xx
Thanks for all the replies everyone!
Hey, I just re-started my facebook page ,please add me as a friend
( Stephen Gaudet) if you haven't already.
Danielle, Thanks for alerting me . You must be using Internet explorer. It that happens sometimes. I'll work on it. (Firefox is a much better browser)
Never heard of inhaler voice. Tho sometimes I feel like I have to clear my throat a few times. Could that be it?