Sinus Surgery and Singing Voice

Factual Questions
1

I have a question being passed along from a professional singer who is balking at the prospect of surgery.

What effects does sinus surgery have on one’s singing voice?

I know it will depend on the individual, but I’m looking for a general factual answer.

TMI warning space…

Essentially it seems that they be scraping out the singer’s sinus cavity, making sure there are no polyps or other weird stuff. Presently the singer suffer through serious pain and pressure - this procedure is designed to put alleviate the recurring sinus infections and the headaches they produce.

So any idea how this may affect the singer’s voice? Resonance, power, hearing self, etc.?

2

Two links and one personal anecdote.

  1. Article says “it’s possible your voice’s resonance will change somewhat”.

  2. Article says “change is frequently for the better”.

  3. The #2 Soprano in our church choir had what you’re describing done to her a year ago, and we are all pleased to report that her voice suffered no change whatsoever. And she’s TONS happier now that her sinuses aren’t quite so chronically clogged up anymore.

3

The resonance that carries the voice occurs within the nasal pharynx, not in the actual nose. The nasal pharynx is located well BEHIND the nose itself.

So, sinus surgery creates no adverse effects on the resonance of the voice. It even improves the tone in some cases, because often times the surgery corrects problems (like post nasal drip, for example) which can tend to cause chronic infections on the vocal folds (which often times WILL adversely affect the voice).

Hope this helps!

4

Thanks!

The article at Chanteur I had already forwarded to the Singer, the anecdote is very helpful too.

I’d read one article that was more of a horror story, but upon consulting my anatomy book, realized the contributor had no idea what she was talking about.

I’ll pass the info along.

Thanks again!