written by Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician, FIU Why are Speech Language Pathologists and teachers at greater risk for voice disorders? “Over 3 million teachers in the United States use their voice as a primary tool of trade and are thought to be at higher risk for occupation-related voice disorders than the general population. Teachers are often required to speak loudly in noisy classrooms for long periods without much time to rest or recover”. Roy et al.: Prevalence of Voice Disorders in Teachers and the General Population How to Prevent Voice Disorders How can certain types of food and beverages affect voice production. We all love coffee, chocolate alcohol or spicy foods; don’t we? They somehow increase the risk of backflow of stomach fluids going to the voice box. Food as the ones mentioned before can increase stomach acid fluids. This production of acid fluids going to the voice box will increase the risk of causing reflux laryngitis. Do you know that you can “dry out” your vocal folds? Yes, caffeine and alcohol play a role on drying out the vocal folds which will contribute to voice problems. Avoidance of Voice Overuse/Misuse/Abuse -Voice Rest: plan short periods of voice rest…