Swollen Tonsils= Messed-up voice???

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 3:21 PM

I dunno. This is just a thought that was bugging me last night when I was in bed.

My tonsils have always been swollen. Even when I was little. When I was 7, I had to be on an inhaler and took medicine for a few weeks and everything. It was crazy.

I have a harder time breathing for this reason, and my mom says swollen tonsils make my breath smell bad. I mean, I'll do everything possible to make my breath smell nice and 5 minutes later it'll be awful >_<

When I was little, she said I might consider having them removed, "for my own benefit".

I don't see anythig good about having people stick their hands down my throat and cutting out a part of me that has been here for a while.
I see nothing good in wasting my own time trying to recover.
I see nothing good in not being able to eat anything hard and dry until my throat feels better.
For these reasons, even now, having my tonsils removed is an automatic no.

But I'm wondering, do they affect your voice? I want to have a good singing voice, and I don't know if my tonsils are keeping me away from that or not. Does anyone have an answer for me?

#DaniThePell

hay7199 • 19 February 2012 at 3:22 PM

But if you get them taken out you can eat ICE CREAM ALL DAY!!!!!!!!

rawrcookies08 • 19 February 2012 at 3:23 PM

@dreamer Test out your voice and see 😉 I would get them removed, because you'll be much happier in the end I bet. And they use lasers, I'm pretty sure doctors don't actually stick their hands down your throat. 😉 You'll also be asleep. AND, you get to eat ice cream and popsicles ALL DAY 😃

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 3:27 PM

@Hay7199 That's not a good thing; Just trust me on that. xD

@Rawrcookies08 I don't know whatever way they do it, but it involves removing my tonsils. It's surgery. I don't liek surgery D8 So much could go wrong. And I got scarred for life by this commercial when I was little. Some guy was having surgery, he was passed out with a giant hole in his throat and doctors looking in it with flashlights. Now I'm obsessive compulsive, when I see sometihng gross or gruesome I put my hands over my neck because it feels like my neck will snap open.
I don't like my voice. It sounds older, but somewhat deeper (I'm a girl) and I always thought of it as nasally. And when I sing my voice is so high. I can't break through any other pitches. I don't want it to be this high.

bunnyshadow • 19 February 2012 at 3:29 PM

record your voice 😊

hay7199 • 19 February 2012 at 3:30 PM

Oh yeah YOU GET AWSOME BRAIN FREZZEZ

spiral • 19 February 2012 at 3:30 PM

@dreamer
I had my tonsils removed and they've caused me no trouble since. The procedure is safe, the recovery time is short, and you get to eat lots of ice cream and Popsicles for a couple days. I had all the same problems you did, but worse--now the only problem I have is that occasionally noodles will get stuck back there and I have to pull them out. ^^;

Swollen tonsils do make your voice croaky. Also, if they're impairing your breathing, they could be weakening the entire rest of your body.

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 3:31 PM

@Bunnyshadow I can't right now. Family is downstairs. They'd thing I'm weird. And I don't know how to upload recordings online.

rawrcookies08 • 19 February 2012 at 3:31 PM

@dreamer Oh. ☹️ I don't like surgery either, but I've never had actual surgery. Once I got something removed from my ankle, and it hurt a bit but after it was done I did not regret it at all. Maybe you should try to persuade yourself about surgery by saying all the good things, like it'll be over in a little while AND your voice will sound way better 😊

Deleted • 19 February 2012 at 3:34 PM

@dreamer I am scared of surgery too and I probably have to get it on my finger.. (cause i broke it) but if you do get them taken out nothing will go wrong, you will have TONS of sympathy by your family and friends and ME and in the end you will be much happier 😃 ❤️

balletninja • 19 February 2012 at 3:36 PM

@dreamer I dunno how you sound normally because last night you didn't talk much.

For Kristen Chenoweth, her range became even higher. This is due to you having more room in your mouth. The higher you go, the more room you need. But it affects everyone differently. The bad breath is probably due to tonsil stones and sometimes you can take an advil and numb your mouth with some of that numbing mouth cream then take a q-tip and get them out 😊

pipkitten • 19 February 2012 at 3:43 PM

@Dreamer
Having swollen tonsils does affect your voice.
I had mine removed, and could totally tell there was a difference in my voice once they were gone. It was a good difference, and I could breathe much easier, too.
Even though you don't really want to have yours taken out, I'd recommend it.

zafeyry • 19 February 2012 at 3:44 PM

@dreamer
I have huge tonsils too. Over the course of my 13 years, I've probably gotten strep throat 20+ times. When I was 5, I had it 5 times, which is 1 away from getting them removed.

cafe • 19 February 2012 at 3:57 PM

I still have my tonsils, but I've had my wisdom teeth removed at 14, and two other surgeries. There's really nothing to be afraid of; it's a common procedure and you're in capable hands. :]

Deleted • 19 February 2012 at 4:07 PM

@dreamer
it could be fun... no school, yogurt/smoothies all day, you'll fell better. I don't think it should change you voice in the long run, it might sound funny for a fews days. Your voice box (which produces vibrations that make your voice) should not be affected

briseis • 19 February 2012 at 4:09 PM

Having swollen, enlarged tonsils can be a potentially deadly condition. It will be much easier for you to get infections, and if you do have untreated infections it can affect your heart, kidneys, and can also spread into your neck and chest, which can be (in many cases) potentially fatal.

Many people have their tonsils removed at a young age because having swollen tonsils later on in life can be problematic. Whether or not you want to have surgery to remove them, you probably should. But that's just my opinion; I hate hospitals and surgery as much as anyone else, but if you're having any kind of problem with your tonsils you should probably have them removed.

On topic...I would assume the size of your tonsils would most definitely affect your singing voice, as the size and shape of the tonsils might restrict your airflow. Even if you have no issue in breathing, singing requires more cooperation from your vocal chords.

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 4:36 PM

I just went to the store with my mom and talked about it in the car. I said, "But they cut my tonsils out." She started listing all these benefits, I said one more time "MOM, THEY CUT THEM OUT." All she said was that she wouldn't argue and then got out of the car (we had just pulled up at the gas station). Not very reassuring at all. :/

I'm dead scared of surgery. Even the smallest. If it benefits my voice maybe 20% of me would put it into consideration. But I would never see myself willingly request surgery. I'm so paranoid of every part of my body, my throat included. But I just don't know...

I could always make a goal, say that if I do something before summer break, I'd get them removed in the summer. But it'd be stupid.

briseis • 19 February 2012 at 6:20 PM

@dreamer Cutting your tonsils out CAN be beneficial. It's the same thing as removing your wisdom teeth, or having your appendix removed. Just like your wisdom teeth and appendix, your tonsils really have no purpose any longer and they can hinder you as a result. Wouldn't you rather have them taken out instead of having issues later in life? It could be deadly (as I said above) not to have them removed.

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 6:24 PM

@Briseis Do you know what the procedure is like? All I know is it involves some sort of cutting. Not sure how they reach your tonsils. I might google it, but I dunno. If it involves cutting through my neck (which I doubt it does) there's no way on earth I'd do it. It would just make me even more obsessive-compulsive.

I dunno... I don't think I can handle a choice like this yet. I don't know. Maybe.

taffy789 • 19 February 2012 at 6:29 PM

@dreamer - I had my Tounsils removed when I was 7. 😊 (They were swollen too)
Recovering was close to painless, and my voice was sore for just a week.
PLUS, ICECREAM! 😊

Except the reason I had to get mine removed were a much more useless reason. 😋
They thought it could help my speech. ><
It didn't. 😋
Oh well. 😋


But if your Tounsils are swollen, it could lead to problems like stressed breathing, like you said.

Either way, the surgery is a good idea, in any case.

briseis • 19 February 2012 at 6:30 PM

@dreamer There's no cutting through the neck; tonsil removal is not an invasive surgery.

The picture below is a pretty good illustration of tonsil removal surgery:

http://www.steadyhealth.com/4540/Image/tonsils_removal.jpg

The doctor will, I would assume, put you to sleep completely beforehand, so you will not feel any pain or discomfort during the procedure.

If you are truly against surgery, ask your doctor about antibiotics. Most doctors nowadays are less likely to recommend surgery as tonsils (specifically tonsillitis) can be treated with antibiotics or home care.

dreamer • 19 February 2012 at 6:32 PM

@Briseis O_O Ouch.

They kinda look like tiny brains D8

I'm assuming that they bleed once they're removed?Do they still bleed when a person wakes up? Because spitting out mouthfuls of blood would just be awkward.

lily- • 19 February 2012 at 6:40 PM

@dreamer
Tonsil surgery is small compared to many other surgeries that go on in the world. Trust me I had a back operation and it was bigger then getting your tonsils being cut out. sure they cut it out and it is scary no doubt. I mean I haven't told this to anyone but when I had my operation I was a little scared (maybe more than a little), but look at the benefits.
Also most likely your voice will improve after they have been taken out and you only have to suffer the pain for a little while, though you won't feel much of it because you will get medicine to help you.