Help! I've lost my voice to vocal nodules!
Donation protected
Hello friends, family and supporters,
My name is Jazz and I am a self-taught musician and singer/songwriter. I fell in love with music as a kid and have so far dedicated the past 21 years of my life to my passion for singing and creating music. My Grandma always told me to have a back-up plan, "You can't just play music for a living, Jazzi" she would say. But I have always been adamant I could prove her wrong.
I started playing gigs at the age of 14 and by 17 I had packed my guitar, PA system and suitcase into a little car and left home to pursue my dreams and play music for a living! I self-booked a tour and sang my heart out in every town from Cairns to Sydney along the East Coast of Australia. At 18 years old I also started entertaining on Cruise Ships which not only gave me the opportunity to sing and play music for a living, but to entertain countless people that I now call close friends after our travels together. It is the dream job!
Two years ago I started loosing my voice quite frequently, so I visited Dr Broadhurst and was diagnosed with vocal nodules. Nothing had ever gotten in the way of my hard work and I wasn't about to let this little hurdle stop me from singing! I believed I could overcome this throat condition with some speech therapy and vocal training. My family would often tell me that my voice sounded awfully painful and that I needed to stop singing, but I was so embarrassed by my damaged vocal cords that I couldn't even admit to myself that I was struggling.
Over the past 12 months my vocal condition has progressed terribly and I am suffering from
- 2 hard, large and very swollen vocal scars (nodules)
- Swollen, tense throat and neck
- Losing my voice after every gig
- Attempting notes and no sound coming out while performing live
- Lack of breath
- Permanently sore and husky voice
- Loss of range
- Not being able to talk on the phone
- MASSIVE loss in self-confidence
- Loss of work due to needing to cancel gigs
- People often not being able to hear me when I try to talk
- Often needing medication and steroids to support voice
Having vocal nodules is now not only affecting me physically but the emotional effects that come with my damaged voice are the worst. Losing my voice has caused me to feel anxious, stressed, low in self-esteem, embarrassed and sad while I'm singing as I rip my throat apart with each gig I perform. I arrive to most of my gigs these days with a painful and husky voice.
I visited Dr Broadhurst again on the 8th of January 2019 and found out that my vocal nodules have almost tripled in size. If I don't stop singing now my range could completely disappear and I could risk loosing my voice permanently.
In order to get my voice back I need to:
- Quit gigging for a minimum of 4 months (goodbye source of income)
- Reduce use of voice and talking during this period
- Attend weekly speech therapy sessions ($150 each)
- Attend weekly vocal lessons to strengthen and retrain singing voice ($80 each)
- Visit Dr Broadhurst for regular checkups ($230 per appt)
- Steroid injection surgery ($2000)
If we don't see successful results after a couple of months of the above treatment, I will then have to undergo a more serious surgery to remove the vocal nodules.
- Vocal Nodule Removal surgery ($5000)
I am sorry to say goodbye to performing live for a while but am excited to get my voice back on track so that I can go back to being able to talk with a clear voice again. I'm going to need to find a new job so that I can support myself while not gigging.... Are there any employers reading this who would hire a currently handicapped musician who has no official work experience other than self booked gigs ?! Hahaha.
This journey is pretty scary and as a 21 year old girl who loves singing with all of her heart I am asking you to please help me me raise some funds to contribute towards saving my voice!!
#SaveJazzellasVoice
Thank you so much to my Grandma, mum, siblings and beautiful Chris for always supporting and believing in me. Thank you to my family, friends and supporters for taking the time to read my story. If you choose to donate - thank you so much! A small donation of $10-$20 would all add up and help me so so much!
My name is Jazz and I am a self-taught musician and singer/songwriter. I fell in love with music as a kid and have so far dedicated the past 21 years of my life to my passion for singing and creating music. My Grandma always told me to have a back-up plan, "You can't just play music for a living, Jazzi" she would say. But I have always been adamant I could prove her wrong.
I started playing gigs at the age of 14 and by 17 I had packed my guitar, PA system and suitcase into a little car and left home to pursue my dreams and play music for a living! I self-booked a tour and sang my heart out in every town from Cairns to Sydney along the East Coast of Australia. At 18 years old I also started entertaining on Cruise Ships which not only gave me the opportunity to sing and play music for a living, but to entertain countless people that I now call close friends after our travels together. It is the dream job!
Two years ago I started loosing my voice quite frequently, so I visited Dr Broadhurst and was diagnosed with vocal nodules. Nothing had ever gotten in the way of my hard work and I wasn't about to let this little hurdle stop me from singing! I believed I could overcome this throat condition with some speech therapy and vocal training. My family would often tell me that my voice sounded awfully painful and that I needed to stop singing, but I was so embarrassed by my damaged vocal cords that I couldn't even admit to myself that I was struggling.
Over the past 12 months my vocal condition has progressed terribly and I am suffering from
- 2 hard, large and very swollen vocal scars (nodules)
- Swollen, tense throat and neck
- Losing my voice after every gig
- Attempting notes and no sound coming out while performing live
- Lack of breath
- Permanently sore and husky voice
- Loss of range
- Not being able to talk on the phone
- MASSIVE loss in self-confidence
- Loss of work due to needing to cancel gigs
- People often not being able to hear me when I try to talk
- Often needing medication and steroids to support voice
Having vocal nodules is now not only affecting me physically but the emotional effects that come with my damaged voice are the worst. Losing my voice has caused me to feel anxious, stressed, low in self-esteem, embarrassed and sad while I'm singing as I rip my throat apart with each gig I perform. I arrive to most of my gigs these days with a painful and husky voice.
I visited Dr Broadhurst again on the 8th of January 2019 and found out that my vocal nodules have almost tripled in size. If I don't stop singing now my range could completely disappear and I could risk loosing my voice permanently.
In order to get my voice back I need to:
- Quit gigging for a minimum of 4 months (goodbye source of income)
- Reduce use of voice and talking during this period
- Attend weekly speech therapy sessions ($150 each)
- Attend weekly vocal lessons to strengthen and retrain singing voice ($80 each)
- Visit Dr Broadhurst for regular checkups ($230 per appt)
- Steroid injection surgery ($2000)
If we don't see successful results after a couple of months of the above treatment, I will then have to undergo a more serious surgery to remove the vocal nodules.
- Vocal Nodule Removal surgery ($5000)
I am sorry to say goodbye to performing live for a while but am excited to get my voice back on track so that I can go back to being able to talk with a clear voice again. I'm going to need to find a new job so that I can support myself while not gigging.... Are there any employers reading this who would hire a currently handicapped musician who has no official work experience other than self booked gigs ?! Hahaha.
This journey is pretty scary and as a 21 year old girl who loves singing with all of her heart I am asking you to please help me me raise some funds to contribute towards saving my voice!!
#SaveJazzellasVoice
Thank you so much to my Grandma, mum, siblings and beautiful Chris for always supporting and believing in me. Thank you to my family, friends and supporters for taking the time to read my story. If you choose to donate - thank you so much! A small donation of $10-$20 would all add up and help me so so much!
Organizer
Jazzella Coogan
Organizer
Coorparoo, QLD