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Topics: Health, Women's Health, Reddit, Periods
Jen Thomas
If you've ever experienced a period, you probably know that your body can do some weird things before, during, and after it.
What fun! From rollercoaster emotions, to bloating, to uncontrollable rage and pain, some women run the whole gamut of symptoms when it comes to their menstrual cycle.
Some people just feel a bit sad and want to eat a lot of chocolate, others actually have more energy and feel like they could take on the world - it really can vary wildly.
Others though, have reported some more unusual symptoms, and it's to do with their voice.
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One woman, who likes to sing, posed a question on Reddit, saying she 'had a lot of voice cracks (although that's a usual problem for me, it was a little bit more than usual) and raspiness when singing on lower notes,' during a voice lesson.
She said her singing teacher 'asked if I'm on my period by any chance or if I will be in the near future, and she said that can affect your singing.'
The poster asked if anyone else had experienced such a phenomenon, and the comments revealed she was not alone.
One replied: "Absolutely. It's not superstition, and it's also not an indirect effect (e.g., feeling generally crappy and having that affect your singing). The vocal folds are normally covered in a layer of thin mucus, but that mucus gets thicker in response to changing hormone levels in the body. Thicker mucus can then cause difficulties for singers."
Another added: "I tend to get slight acid reflux during my period, which can definitely affect singing. I find that Pepcid or Tums makes a huge difference, otherwise I tend to avoid singing for a day or two."
This person agreed: "Absolutely- back in the days of the “golden age of singing”, the opera house manager wouldn’t schedule female singers during their periods. It always depends on the singer, but generally your vocal chords thicken or swell during this time."
One person knew a lot about it, and shared the name of the condition: "100% a period can impact your voice. Premenstrual Voice Syndrome (PVS) can cause a loss of power, quicker onset of vocal fatigue, and USUALLY a drop in vocal range as well as raspier vocals."
They added: "This is a result of hormone changes, with symptoms occurring on the days before and during a period (typically the first few days). Studies show 1 out of 3 women experience this problem. I, unfortunately, am one of them."
As well as PVS, it is sometimes referred to as menstrual dysphonia.
One clinical study compared the voices of women at different stages in their cycle, and looked at women who use hormonal contraception and also those who experience their cycle without taking anything.
Fascinatingly, the researchers found that there was in fact a difference in both voice strength and pitch for the women who abstained from hormonal contraception, while those who were using it did not experience any fluctuations or changes in voice, which was put down to the more consistent hormones.
However, they did note that the findings 'suggest that vocal changes in relation to hormonal fluctuation are subtle.'
If you're experiencing any major issues, it's probably best to get checked out by your doctor.