voice change and hoarseness

[Alexzanp3]

Hi! I'm Alexzander, I have been on T for 7 months now and my voice has gotten deeper (yay). It was cracking really bad between 3-6 months, but now I just have a really hoarse voice. I have to really strain myself in order to talk clear and deeper. When I try to talk "normally" my voice constantly cuts off and I sound "feminine". It's super painful trying to go throughout the day straining my voice as if I'm singing every word I say. Has anyone experienced this and do you have any suggestions or solutions? I drink a lot of coffee which I know can dry out the vocal chords (but I'm not giving up coffee) I also drink a lot of apple cider and hot tea which eases the pain but doesn't help me talk. Any advice is greatly appreciated,  thanks!!

[VickySGV]

I volunteer with a Chorus of 40 Trans people so I have learned a little bit about voices.  First, quit worrying and setting standards for your voice that you may not be able to meet.  Sure, we do have some of the guys in the upper Bass range, but when they are speaking it is about low Tenor, but no one gives them any trouble about how they sound pitch wise.  On the other end, two of our prettiest women also sing Bass, but their speaking voices are also in the Tenor ranges and they have no problems being read as female.  Big issue is not the pitch, it is the voice cadence and the vocabulary choices.  Even before I dared to come out, I was having to fight my normal tendency to speak like a female even from childhood. Women use more descriptive language than me do, so at best your male voice needs to take on shorter words and not the musical range that women use.  Forcing your voice in to the deeper range will hurt if you do it too fast but using the correct wording takes a strain off and makes it feel better.  It does take time to get it right though.

[Alexzanp3]

9 hours ago, VickySGV said:

I volunteer with a Chorus of 40 Trans people so I have learned a little bit about voices.  First, quit worrying and setting standards for your voice that you may not be able to meet.  Sure, we do have some of the guys in the upper Bass range, but when they are speaking it is about low Tenor, but no one gives them any trouble about how they sound pitch wise.  On the other end, two of our prettiest women also sing Bass, but their speaking voices are also in the Tenor ranges and they have no problems being read as female.  Big issue is not the pitch, it is the voice cadence and the vocabulary choices.  Even before I dared to come out, I was having to fight my normal tendency to speak like a female even from childhood. Women use more descriptive language than me do, so at best your male voice needs to take on shorter words and not the musical range that women use.  Forcing your voice in to the deeper range will hurt if you do it too fast but using the correct wording takes a strain off and makes it feel better.  It does take time to get it right though.

My issue isn't exactly the pitch of my voice (I would like it to sound deeper but it's not my main concern) It's the fact that it's always hoarse no matter what I say. The reason I strain my voice is so people at work and school can actually hear me talk. If I dont, my voice cuts off or squeaks

[VickySGV]

49 minutes ago, Alexzanp3 said:

My issue isn't exactly the pitch of my voice (I would like it to sound deeper but it's not my main concern) It's the fact that it's always hoarse no matter what I say.

 

This is something that you need to be seeing a doctor about then.  This may have nothing at all to do with your "T" regimen.