Teachers get it; drill sergeants get it; singers get it; and, politicians get it – just ask Hillary Clinton! Ministers, coaches, trainers, and aerobic instructors get it. Anyone who overuses his/her voice on a daily basis can get it. Rooting for your favorite team can do it as well as yelling at your kids all day.

It plagues many people. And, if it is affecting you, you can hear it and you can feel it. It is called vocal abuse and it will not go away on its own unless you change what is causing it. Unless you are sick or are experiencing chronic post-nasal drip due to allergies, vocal abuse is the result of misplacement and overuse of the voice.

What many often fail to recognize in understanding vocal abuse is that the vocal folds (cords) are a most delicate organ. They were made to be used throughout the course of a day. They were not meant to be subjected to constant yelling or overuse of the voice however. Just as you would not be able to run, dance or exercise all day long, you cannot place that much strain on your voice box and throat without causing harm.

Each voice has its limits. Because the vocal folds are very individual, some people can yell all day and never experience chronic hoarseness or a persistent sore throat. Then, there are the rest of us.

The problem with vocal abuse is that unless you change what is causing it, it will only get worse. And, it can lead to permanent damage to your vocal folds. Certainly we can hear this in Secretary of State Clinton's voice. After campaigning for 2 years, she suffered permanent damage that will never go away. The good news is that her voice today sounds better with the damage than it did prior to the campaign. Her original speaking voice was strident and she often resorted to yelling. Today, her voice is no longer raucous and is much easier on our ears than before.

Vocal abuse is something to be avoided at all costs. If you have chronic hoarseness or even experience occasional loss of voice, see an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. If nothing medically is affecting your voice, then you should consider voice improvement in which you will be taught to use your chest to power your sound. In doing so, you will be eliminating the excessive wear and tear on those delicate folds and discover a more resonant, richer speaking voice in the process.