loss of high range

Dr. Thomas. i stumbled on your site after googling to find out long term effects of acid reflux on the voice. its nice to see someone addressing singer problems with such knowledge and understanding. if i may, here is my situation...

i am a professional session singer in LA (tenor). i have some classical training, but have been mostly self-taught and have a versatile voice that can do legit if it calls for it, but mostly end up singing pop/rock/jazz/country/r&b styles. when i was much younger i learned technique by emulating other singers. i learned how to sing through my break, i learned how to develop my mask and my high mix, i learned how to stylize. i became very sought-after for recording session work to be able to sing high and blend with females as well as males because i could mix all the way up to a G5 and then had another fourth or fifth in my falsetto above that.

fast forward to today. i am now 43. my low end has expanded to a D2 and my high range is much reduced. i can only mix out a D5 and my falsetto can only get up to an E5 or F5 on a good day. also, the amount of breath i need has increased. i find myself not being able to sustain nearly as long as i used to. while i still have a very strong loud high mix. my A5 through B5 are my money notes. my high floaty stuff has almost gone away. i have been to ENTs and they have scoped me and they have said that my folds are fine. but that the tissue surrounding my cricothyroid muscles is swollen and bumpy due to acid reflux. they showed me a picture from the scope they did and it confirmed what they were saying. that seems to be a very legitimate answer, but after reading your page on acid reflux it seems like that might be a standard diagnosis that many ENTs give. i have taken zantac here and there and haven't noticed any immediate results. however there are other factors at work and i have considered these reasons as well.

i started socially smoking when i was 30. i average maybe 4 or 5 cigarettes a week, sometimes less. i also notice that when i don't have one for several weeks there is a slight improvement in control, but not overwhelming. i'm sure smoking has some effect on the chords, but i also have a few professional singing friends who smoke way more than that and they aren't having the same problems as i am.

another possible cause is that i went through a small body-building phase and i bought some over the counter androgens that were in tablet form and taken and dissolved under the tongue. they are supposed to increase testosterone production. i only took them for about a 2 month period. at the time i was working on a cruise ship and the music i had to sing was not demanding range-wise so it was hard to tell if that had any affect. i tried doing research on the topic, but the only thing said about that topic is some steroids cause female voices to lower.

yet another factor is my sinuses. since moving to LA from orlando via seattle, i have developed allergies and chronic sinus issues which affects my mask and placement. there is also increased mucous drainage. every time i get the slightest cold or allergy attack, it turns into a sinus infection and camps out there for weeks upon weeks.

i tend to think that all of these have contributed equally, not to mention just getting older as well as not singing nearly as regularly as i used to due to not having any regular gigs and the economy taking away some of my session work. but if there is any advice you can give me about trying to get my voice back in shape and get at least some of my high range back, i would appreciate it. also, if you can debunk any of my theories that would help too. i just want to know where to start. i am going to lay off cigarettes for this whole summer and see how i do with that. i know, ...duh! :-)

thanks in advance!