How Do I Get My Voice Back?

Tea with honey to soothe the throat and rest. You have to give it time to recover.

Yesterday, I was able to communicate via white-board. I think I will do that again today.

Having suffered numerous bouts of laryngitis, I cannot stress enough the importance of vocal rest. The best thing you can do is drink lots of water, sleep, and avoid talking if at all possible. Someone commented on using your normal speaking voice instead of trying to whisper. YES, it is true, whispering actually places more stress on your vocal cords than just speaking normally.
One last thing: don't expect that your voice will spring right back after a day or two of vocal rest. It usually takes a few days before you'll have some semblence of a voice again, and sometimes even weeks before you're truly back to "normal." The important thing is not to push it, or try to sing through it, or you may cause some permanent damage.

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Thank you all very very much. This is new for me, I've never just completely lost my voice before.

Rest is really the only thing that works-drinking a lot of liquids is good too, but nothing beats rest--sleep actually...

I echo what's been said. I would say be VERY careful when using voal folds at all. If you don't HAVE to do anything vocally don't.

Losing one's voice (Laryngitis)sucks. You can drink lots of liquids and do minimal vocal therapy things (no more than 5 mins) and you can sleep. All that is good but it's not a cure. Why you should do all these good things hasn't been touched on here so I'll mention this. What you have is swollen vocal chords. They get puffy and in their enlarged state can't vibrate...hence laryngitis. Keep in mind that a male's vocal folds are about the size of a nickel. ANY speech is putting stress on them. Would you run a marathon with a swollen knee? NO. Would you go for a jog with a swollen ankle? NO. At least I hope not! Your voice is the same take care of it and wait it out. You'll be glad you did.

P.S.I wouldn't spend $40 on a steamer unless you have it to spend and really want one. You can get the same effect sitting in a steamy shower/bathroom or boiling some water, taking it off the flam and inhaling the steam with a towel over your face and the pot.

throat coat does wonders. also, try singer's saving grace.
definitely. feel better!

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is honey good or not? i've heard conflicting things.

Sleep as much as you possibly can....and if you have a vaporizer, you should put it on while you sleep, especially if you have your heat on (it dries out the air).

Z-Pack (Antibiotic) and Steroids. That's if you need it back in one day. if not just rest.

a big glass of 1/3 apple cider vinegar and 2/3 oj drink quickly
I've seen this work several times on ppl who could not speak 5 minutes before a curtain and by the time their first scene came were fine. You still need to rest your voice after but it could help to get thru a class or a show or whatever.