Courtenay Ennis Vocal Studio

Up early to attend the inaugural Midwest Voice Conference. Opening remarks by the incomparable Dr. Ingo Titze—legendary researcher in vocal science.

So many great experts presenting, here. Kicking myself for not flying out.

All I do is read. And sometimes teach. A small selection of books from my vocal health deep dive, last Fall.

Ready for day two of the Northwest Voice Conference!

It's a beautiful day!! 🌞 ...to add 581 annotations on reflux from 5 scholarly handbooks to my knowledge management systems. (Okay one is scholarly "ish")

Quick takeaway: Kinda like the Robin Williams joke "If you remember the 60s... you weren't really 'there'"

Anyone offering quick takeaways either doesn't understand reflux, or is maybe oversimplifying for marketing or other reasons. There are many pathways to reflux, requiring different approaches to resolve.

Although there are many things worth trying and pretty safe to try, I'd now think very hard, and do a lot of research before jumping on the PPI or H2 blocker bandwagons, even short term, due to possibility of increasing SIBO and other forms of dysbiosis which can (drumroll...) also make reflux worse. Not sure how well-appreciated this is by different health professionals, yet. (Also, I'm not a doctor, obviously, yada...)

Anyway, just teed up another 5 scholarly handbooks on reflux and allergy. That's normal, right? 😂😭🤦‍♂️

Sooo much reading / watching / learning. I'm coming to the end of a 3-week 'reflux model' deep dive and update. ⁠
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Going forward, there will be more systems around vocal health checks and education for my clients, especially on intake.⁠
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So many come in with subtle (or not so subtle) / probable reflux. ⁠
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So many come in with subtle swelling (that was my previous 'model update' deep dive). ⁠
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Reflux likely isn't one straightforward issue--it has multiple potential pathways, plus some amount of the time (rarely? often? it's unclear...), it isn't reflux but something else that presents very similarly (allergies? non-allergenic irritants? inflammation? vagus nerve damage? subtle swelling or other benign lesions?)⁠
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Plus... I think singers are much more sensitive to reflux and vocal health issues in general, as... we're asking our vocal folds to do way subtler things than most people ask of their folds. The standards for optimal vocal fold health are higher for singers.⁠
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Some specialists think hoarseness from reflux is extremely rare (I doubt this, currently, but I hold a lot of space for other possibilities, at the same time). I have some clients who I suspect have reflux, but their folds sound very healthy until they try to sustain in mix. ⁠
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Are you wondering if you have reflux? Or are you sure you have it, but not sure how to get rid of it? Do you feel like testing for, diagnosing, and treating reflux is a huge confusing mess? (If so: I think you're totally right.)⁠
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I've read so much new stuff, this time 'round, and mostly it's just convinced me that I don't understand as much as I thought I did--and, similarly, not to trust any source that sounds overconfident especially about singular causes or solutions. ⁠
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But I'm getting there... This book was not cheap, but I can't wait to get into it (plus I have many more teed up).⁠
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The good news is there are many safe, non-prescription things that we can do, right now, that are great for general health, regardless, and probably very helpful with reflux--more on that soon.

Career Update: Proud to announce I was elected to the Vancouver Board of the National Association for Teachers of Singing (NATS) recently.

Working on in-person events for singers, last night.

Singers, let me know if there are any events and resources you might like to see from NATS.

Working on some content around breathiness and how to change it, if desired. Beautiful morning light streaming in over the keyboard 🌄😊

Another point the brilliant Dr Gupta has mentioned before is that… reading scope images can be tricky, so going to the laryngologist when healthy for a ‘baseline’ scope can be really helpful in determining of there’s been any changes.

Why you should consider an Annual Voice Physical with a Laryngologist Vocal Athletes and the Annual Vocal Physical Vocalists, be they singers, voice actors, stage actors, or anyone else who uses their voice professionally, are at high risk for vocal injury. Their daily profession puts them at risk of injury because of the intensity and duration of use, with more risk