I believe I strained my vocal chords about 3 months ago and I have had problems with singing ever since. I seem to have some of the same symptoms of the overdoers such as need to clear my throat a lot, random hoarseness, voice loss when trying to reach higher notes, pitch range limitations and I feel like I need to sing louder to get sound out. However, I have been to two different ENT doctor's and neither one after examining my vocal chords mentioned me having any nodules, polyps are cysts. Also, if you include a vocal coach I have gotten 3 different opinions of what I need to do to correct the problem and they all contradict the other one. I am at a total loss as to how to get my voice back and wondering if I will ever be normal again. My voice seems to fatigue easily meaning that when I first start singing I can hit the high notes but after I practice the song a few times all of a sudden I start having issues with voice loss and not able to hit the same high notes as before. The feeling of constantly needing to clear my throat and even a feeling of something in my throat is driving me crazy. I have been asked to sing a solo at church in a couple of days and I am unsure how to remedy the situation. For example do I need to rest my voice? and if so for how long? will I be doing more damage to my voice if I sing in a couple of days? I help lead songs on the worship team at my church and there is nothing I love more than singing so this is something I really need to find the answers to as far as how to get my voice well again. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
If you can hear a problem, you can see the problem. There are swellings on the vocal cords which progress with vocal use. For example, a dilated blood vessel on the edge of the vocal cord will swell with blood after a person uses their voice. After voice rest, the swelling can go back down which would make it more difficult to see on an examination. In general, you want to be examined when the voice is bad. That may mean that you need to sing prior to the examination. The individual performing the exam should video your vocal cords with stroboscopy while your voice sounds impaired in order to identify the cause of the impairment.