At rehearsals I notice a lot of throat clearing and coughing (not related to having a cold). Every throat clear causes minor damage to your vocal chords which are only about 1/2 inch long and very very delicate and repetitive throat clearing can cause permanent damage to them.
The need to throat clear is because mucous builds up on them for whatever reason, yet as we clear the mucus it sets up a reaction whereby more mucous is produced and more throat clearing is needed. At some point throat clearing becomes a bad habit.
So how to avoid throat clearing?
First of all make sure you are fully hydrated. As we age a lot of people don’t like to drink too much water for fear of needing to go the toilet too often. Water is one of the fundamentals of life so focus on strengthening your pelvic floor and bladder to be able to cope with the right amount of water needed. Being dehydrated has many more negative effects on the body then just needing to clear your throat a lot.
Be aware how often you do actually clear your throat.
Aim to notice what precisely happens before you actually clear your throat. Do you notice a tickle? Where precisely do you notice it? On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is the ticklet, Does it really need a cough or throat clear? Prevention is better than cure after all. Once you can explain what actually happens you can choose to sniff and swallow which will have the same effect as throat cellaring but with out the associated damage to the vocal chords and potential habit formation.
The same holds true for coughing which also damages the vocal chords. Personally I have found that by just being aware of what happens just before I need to cough and by then swallowing or having a sip of water I can reduce my coughing by about 75%. Good news is that a small amount of port, sipped, and not too often, is actually good for your throat.
The point here is to tune into what your body is telling you just before you throat clear or cough. More awareness of our bodies can only help us be healthier and sing better.
Exercise
Be aware of how much throat clearing and coughing you do and how much of it goes on around you. Focus on what happens for you just before you have the need to throat clear or cough. Can you reduce the number of times you have to do it by sniffing and swallowing? How dehydrated are you?
