Hi everyone, letter this morning to say turn up on Monday 24 August at Speech Therapy clinic.

I feel sure that my voice needs serious work and the gender clinic said they will ensure I get therapy or vocal cord surgery if I need it...so first I have to be assessed at Speech clinic...

So what is everyone's expereince of how their speech is accepted or outs them, or how home or professional therapy has helped or who has had to resort to surgery and did it help? Etc......

Speech therapy was the second of the therapies I asked doctor to refer me for...just need to hear about orchiectomy for the second lump now...

Hi Rose, this is something I am personally working on right now as well. I have the deepstealth program which I need to keep practicing with along with others. I'm not sure there is a simple answer to voice, maybe the best answer is confidence. I think a lower voice which most of us still end up with can be overlooked in moments if we have the confidence that we belong. I'm also working on trying to get a nose job that will help me breath better which I would think could help my speech. I have yet to hear anyone with positive things to say about vocal chord surgery. It does raise pitch some but from what I heard the difference is minimal and doesn't sound quite right. I don't know, maybe you have heard of better success at that. As for speech therapy, the best part is the "feedback" you can get. I wish you the best on it.
Hugs,
Marsha

Hi rose and Marsha,
My voice has been my biggest concern during my transition.I have been working on it for nearly a year,using various methods I`ve found on the internet.You can check out my progress on my youtube site at youtube.com/michelleNight21 see what you think......lol.It`s still a working progress.My voice is the only thing I am paranoid about on a daily basis.Everone tells me my voice is fine,but I still think I sound like a man.........lol.I would try the voice therapy first Rose and see how you go,I`ve heard lot`s of horror stories about vocal chord operations.
Michelle xxx

I had a consultation for vocal chord surgery at CX with Dr Sandhu I think his name was. I wasn't exactoly filled with confidence and decided against it, as well as deciding to have my trach shave done by Dr Suporn instead of wih him (which would have been free). He seemed like a nice man though.
CX also offered me speech therapy but as I'm at the other end of the country I found someone local, but I was her first TS patient. I've been "discharged" from her now, she helped a bit, but not in the way I would have liked.

I'm still working on my voice, sometimes I get sirred on the phone, sometimes madamed. I think it's getting better, I really struggle after I've been gigging when my throat is a bit croaky and my voice seems to drop half an octave.
It takes time to find your voice. It really helps to record yourself and listen back. Do some reading, and also just "talk to yourself", which will probably sound more like the real you than if you're reading from a book.
xx

I'm always sirred on the phone and its annoying! But today I asked two neighbours about my voice and they both say no its fine...deeper/hoarser end of female perhaps...but then I go in shops and get him/he...so i think it needs work...

the transman on the Zucker hates transsexuals post I put up had a very female voice but looked as though testosterone had brought out a beard and the usual maleness...so the idea that testo will deepen a FtM's voice doesn't seem 100% true...usual tale of we all differ?

I was actually startled the one or two times I was called "maam" on the phone. I wasn't "trying" to sound femme or even "presenting" as a woman on the call. All I have done is try to change my speech patterns/word usage and to try to talk with minimum laryngeal vibration. I guess at times it kicks in without thinking about it. I was quite surprised.

One thing I would recommend is, before judging your own voice, record it and listen to it. It will sound different to you because of resonance in the skull. I've also noticed it sounds less "masculine" when I'm talking online and hearing my voice delayed coming back from the other person's mike to my speakers. Some of that is technical but some of it is definitely that I don't hear my own voice as others do when it's in my head and resonating.

About the only thing I can say is that years ago I never met anyone that had the voice surgery that worked. Maybe things are different now, I don't know.

As for the voice by therapist. I have heard good things about that and may look into it myself as a result.

Like all things it takes practice and the ones that "get it" have always been the ones that practice the most I found.
I myself sound like Trace Adkins and have a pretty deep voice. My wife only tonight said for the first time I sounded female. Not feminine, just female. For me that was huge. Also i have only been practising for about 3 months so far and not even steady at that. About 3 to 4 days a week for about an hour or two total for each day.
I expect to have a female voice down pat by next spring [April May]. I know it will take me a while and I am willing to put in the effort to get there. I just take it one day at a time, do my practicing and get on with it. My goal is that by next year this time to be Ma'amed ALL the time on the phone etc etc when it comes to my voice. Again I know it takes time and I just do it.

Resonance is the key I have found more then anything else in sounding female. At least for those with truck sounding voices like myself.
Melanie Anne Phillips has some very good information on this. One is written [scroll down to find it] and the other is a mini video.

http://heartcorps.com/jou[...]ice.htm

http://blog.heartcorps.co[...]lk.aspx

Also I have some links on my website to a few more pieces of information that someone might find helpful as well.

http://stepheniesplace.go[...]ges.com

Just look in the links section under voice.

I hope that helps someone here


Stephenie