Spasmodic Dysphonia & Muscle Tension Dysphonia Exercises

Drew Hanson
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Semiweekly

Welcome to the Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises Podcast, where we show up — voice cracks, tough days, and all — to retrain and reconnect with our voices. In today’s episode, we guide you through a full vocal drill routine designed specifically for individuals managing Spasmodic Dysphonia, Muscle Tension Dysphonia, and other voice disorders. This session includes: Gentle warm-ups for vocal coordinationRepetitive “Me-Me” and “Nim-Nim” sequencesBreath-supported patterns to reduce vocal strainEncouragement for consistency — even on imperfect daysWhether you're commuting, stretching, or quietly working through your daily voice routine, this episode is a supportive companion in your vocal recovery journey. You don’t have to push — you just have to show up. 🎙️ Hosted by: Drew Hanson 🎧 New episodes released regularly to keep your practice strong. #SpasmodicDysphonia #VoiceExercises #VocalTherapy #SpeechTherapy #DrewHanson #VoiceRecovery #DailyVoiceDrills #AudioTherapy #SDRecovery #VocalHealth

  1. Vowels Are the Enemy | Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises

    5d ago

    Vowels Are the Enemy | Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises

    Today we are tackling one of the biggest tests for Spasmodic Dysphonia: Vowels. Even saying the word “vowels” can be a problem, so this session jumps right into the challenge. We start with “me me” and “nim nim” warmups, then move into counting drills, head voice, mask placement, Forebrain buzz awareness, and vowel work with A, E, I, O, and U. The focus is breath support, diaphragm power, holding the vowel as long as the breath allows, and trying to keep the voice from getting hijacked by Spasmodic Dysphonia. Also included: pepperoni, cold pool water, ASMR coffee, and Y being off drinking again. Reminder: I am not a doctor, speech therapist, or professional voice coach. I’m just a guy with Spasmodic Dysphonia sharing the exercises and techniques that have helped me.

    12 min
  2. Spasmodic Dysphonia and Alcohol: The Quick Fix Trap

    Jun 9

    Spasmodic Dysphonia and Alcohol: The Quick Fix Trap

    Everything has a quick fix. And for a lot of people with Spasmodic Dysphonia, one of the strangest “quick fixes” is alcohol. This is not medical advice. This is a lifestyle conversation about something many people with Spasmodic Dysphonia have noticed, wondered about, joked about, or secretly tested. For some people, alcohol can temporarily make the voice feel smoother. It may reduce tension, calm the nervous system, lower anxiety, or simply make you less hyper-aware of every voice break. But the tradeoff is real. The next day can bring dehydration, thick mucus, throat clearing, reflux, poor sleep, anxiety, worse spasms, and a voice that feels like it is running on sandpaper and bad decisions. In this episode, I talk about the pros, the cons, the trap of using alcohol as a voice tool, the social situations where it becomes tempting, and why “it helps my voice” can become dangerous logic when a craving is looking for a lawyer. This is not about shame. It is about honesty.

    17 min
  3. Spasmodic Dysphonia Attack Drill: Release the Tension

    Jun 8

    Spasmodic Dysphonia Attack Drill: Release the Tension

    Tension is not our friend with Spasmodic Dysphonia. This is a focused Attack Drill built around loosening tension, finding head voice, getting into the mask, and moving the voice without forcing it. We work through warmup counts, tongue-out variations, “goo goo” drills, tongue-curled-back “oh” drills, tongue tension release, “we we we” resonance drills, Forebrain buzz awareness, and quick reset work for Spasmodic Dysphonia. And yes, I almost knocked over my coffee. Reminder: I am not a doctor, speech therapist, or professional voice coach. I’m your friend with Spasmodic Dysphonia doing exercises with you. Nobody sue me. Unless you want a couple baseball cards.

    9 min
  4. Why Phone Calls Are So Hard With Spasmodic Dysphonia

    Jun 4

    Why Phone Calls Are So Hard With Spasmodic Dysphonia

    No exercises today — this is a lifestyle episode. And today’s topic is one of the biggest enemies of Spasmodic Dysphonia: The phone. If you have a voice disorder, the phrase “give me a call” can feel like a threat. In this episode, I tell a real-life story about dealing with eBay customer service, a missing Bar Bingo championship belt case, a mystery shipping company, forced callbacks, spam-call settings, and the kind of stressful phone conversation that can make a Spasmodic Dysphonia voice go completely sideways. The bigger point is how phone calls affect people with Spasmodic Dysphonia, dysphonia, speech issues, or voice disorders — especially when we are already frustrated, emotional, misunderstood, or forced into a situation where texting or email would have worked better. Sometimes the best sentence is: “I have a speech impediment and a hearing impediment, so phone calls do not work well for me. Can we please handle this by text or email?” This is part of the lifestyle side of Spasmodic Dysphonia. Because honestly? This could have been a text.

    11 min
  5. Old School Voice Marathon for Spasmodic Dysphonia

    Jun 3

    Old School Voice Marathon for Spasmodic Dysphonia

    I had a realization lately. I looked in the mirror and realized I am getting old. So today we are going old school. This is a longer marathon-style Spasmodic Dysphonia voice exercise session based on the original full routine I started doing back in 2023. Instead of a quick attack drill, this one goes deeper into the fundamentals: warmups, repetition, mask placement, diaphragm breathing, vocal power, placement, quality, and feeling the buzz of the voice in the right place. We work through Nim / Me drills, counting exercises, “Right Ready Really Beautiful No Go Do,” performer voice fundamentals, Forebrain discussion, and the old school voice routine structure. And yes, I apparently woke up goofy for this one. I’m not a doctor, speech therapist, or vocal coach. I’m your friend with Spasmodic Dysphonia doing the exercises with you. Power. Placement. Quality. Old school.

    43 min
  6. Monday Reset: Beginner Voice Drills for Spasmodic Dysphonia

    Jun 1

    Monday Reset: Beginner Voice Drills for Spasmodic Dysphonia

    It’s Monday. It’s a brand new month. That makes it a pretty good time to stop saying “I should start doing voice exercises” and actually start. This is a beginner-friendly Spasmodic Dysphonia exercise session built around the basics: posture, breathing, smooth airflow, humming, mask placement, straw-in-water glides, mini sirens, and descending hums. We work through light and easy exercises designed to help find a smoother way into the voice without forcing it. In this episode: posture resetbreathing from the lower regionsmooth connected airflowfinding optimal pitch through hummingmask placement and forward focusstraw-in-water voice glideslow-to-high “who” glideshigh-to-low “who” glidesmini sirensdescending humsgetting back up when the voice slipsI also talk about the Fort Brain device, resonance, and why the buzz comes from your own voice when you’re placing it correctly. I’m not a doctor, speech therapist, or vocal coach. I’m your friend with Spasmodic Dysphonia doing the exercises with you. Light and easy. Don’t force it. Find the mask. Start here.

    11 min
  7. Wear Your Best Voice: Weekend Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises

    May 8

    Wear Your Best Voice: Weekend Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises

    We’re going into the weekend. You might be going out tonight. You might be going out tomorrow. You might have a date. You want to wear your best clothes. You want to wear your best shoes. And you want to wear your best voice. This episode is a longer archive voice exercise session built around vowels, breathing, mask placement, facial resonance, diaphragm support, and repetition. Some days you want a quick 10-minute attack drill. Other days, you want a deeper marathon session to really warm up and finish strong. In this session, we work through: * daily “nim / me” warmups * phrase repetition * diaphragm awareness * vocal power * mask placement * facial resonators * long vowel holds * A / E / Ah / Oh / You vowel work * combined vowel flow * “fire” and “you” diaphragm blasts * “you come here” * nasal resonance drills * “nay” scales * sustained “you,” “whoa,” “nae,” and “ma” exercises * a reminder that breathing matters, mistakes happen, and being human is part of the work I am not a doctor, speech therapist, or vocal coach. I’m just your buddy with Spasmodic Dysphonia, sharing exercises and routines that help me keep showing up, keep practicing, and keep attacking. Never strain. This is about quality, not force. Breathe deep. Feel the mask. Use the resonators. Finish strong. Chapters: 00:00 Weekend setup: wear your best voice 00:49 Daily drills begin 01:15 Nim / Me warmups 01:51 Me-Me counting drill 02:11 Nim / Me with phrases 03:36 “Right Ready Really Beautiful” phrase drill 04:58 Power, placement, and quality 05:47 Element 1: Vocal power and diaphragm 06:34 Element 2: Mask placement 07:50 Element 3: Facial resonators 08:36 Never strain: quality over force 09:04 Long A vowel hold 10:19 Long E vowel hold 11:46 Ah vowel hold 13:10 Oh vowel hold 14:29 You vowel hold 15:50 Combined vowel flow 17:01 Diaphragm power: “fire” 17:51 Diaphragm blast: “you” 18:12 “You come here” drill 19:25 Nasal resonator work 19:55 Nay scale drill 20:26 Held fourth “nay” drill 21:33 Combining all voice elements 22:11 Sustained “you” repetition 23:09 Sustained “whoa” repetition 24:21 Sustained “nae” repetition 25:33 Final “ma” exercise 26:40 Final affirmation 27:08 Breathing mistake / human moment 27:31 Final reminder #SpasmodicDysphonia #VoiceExercises #VoiceWarmup #Dysphonia #LaryngealDystonia #VoiceRecovery #VocalHealth #SpeechTherapyExercises #VocalExercises #VoiceDisorder ------------------------------- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sdexercises Instagram: www.Instagram.com/spasmodicdysphoniaexercises YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spasmodicdysphoniaexercises Search Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get Podcasts searching "Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises" For other amazing resources in helping the voice heal. Check out Cathy Merkle-Roddy's program and book a consult with this link. https://tinyurl.com/4wrpx6h3

    28 min
  8. Celebrities With Spasmodic Dysphonia: Is There a Magic Pill?

    May 6

    Celebrities With Spasmodic Dysphonia: Is There a Magic Pill?

    Do celebrities have a magic pill for Spasmodic Dysphonia, dysphonia, dystonia, or major voice disorders? That’s the question I keep coming back to. When you’re dealing with a voice disorder, it is easy to think celebrity money, celebrity doctors, celebrity access, and celebrity specialists must mean there is some secret fix the rest of us don’t know about. But when you look at public figures connected to Spasmodic Dysphonia, dysphonia, dystonia, or serious voice problems — Shania Twain, Selma Blair, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Shadoe Stevens, and Scott Adams — the story is not usually “they found the magic pill.” The story is more complicated. They searched. They struggled. They tried treatments. They adapted. They had setbacks. And in some cases, they had to accept a changed version of their voice. In this episode, I look at celebrity voice stories through the lens of Spasmodic Dysphonia and voice disorder awareness: what happened, what treatments or theories they have discussed, and what their stories can teach the rest of us. I still have Spasmodic Dysphonia myself. I’m not a doctor, speech therapist, or vocal coach. I’m sharing what I’m learning as I go and trying to build more awareness around what it feels like when your voice becomes unreliable. The biggest takeaway: There may not be a magic pill. But there is a toolbox. Maybe that toolbox includes doctors, Botox, voice therapy, vocal exercises, nervous system work, lifestyle changes, surgery, rest, acceptance, patience — or some combination of all of it. And even when the voice changes, the person is still there. Contents: 00:00 Do celebrities have a magic pill? 02:26 Shania Twain and voice loss 06:01 Selma Blair, MS, and Spasmodic Dysphonia 09:02 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Spasmodic Dysphonia 12:14 Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, identity, and losing the voice 14:00 Shadoe Stevens and the broadcaster connection 20:29 Scott Adams and surgery 21:35 Is there a magic pill? 23:17 The voice changes, but the person is still there Subscribe for more Spasmodic Dysphonia exercises, voice recovery conversations, celebrity voice disorder discussions, interviews, and real-time practice sessions. #SpasmodicDysphonia #VoiceDisorder #VoiceRecovery #Dysphonia #LaryngealDystonia #ShaniaTwain #SelmaBlair #RFKJr #DMC #RunDMC #ScottAdams #VoiceExercises #VocalHealth

    24 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Spasmodic Dysphonia Exercises Podcast, where we show up — voice cracks, tough days, and all — to retrain and reconnect with our voices. In today’s episode, we guide you through a full vocal drill routine designed specifically for individuals managing Spasmodic Dysphonia, Muscle Tension Dysphonia, and other voice disorders. This session includes: Gentle warm-ups for vocal coordinationRepetitive “Me-Me” and “Nim-Nim” sequencesBreath-supported patterns to reduce vocal strainEncouragement for consistency — even on imperfect daysWhether you're commuting, stretching, or quietly working through your daily voice routine, this episode is a supportive companion in your vocal recovery journey. You don’t have to push — you just have to show up. 🎙️ Hosted by: Drew Hanson 🎧 New episodes released regularly to keep your practice strong. #SpasmodicDysphonia #VoiceExercises #VocalTherapy #SpeechTherapy #DrewHanson #VoiceRecovery #DailyVoiceDrills #AudioTherapy #SDRecovery #VocalHealth

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