Voice changes after illness

Question

I recovered from the flu a few weeks ago, but my voice hasn't returned to its normal range. I'm a fairly high soprano usually, and have a comfortable range from about a Middle C to a high Eb.

For the past few weeks my top range has remained much the same, but I have a low B and A (and occasionally a G!) that certainly weren't there before. I also appear to have a lot more body in my lower range than I did before being sick - more of a "belt" - which I've never had before.

I've never heard of changes sticking around after an illness like this. Has anyone else had experience with this? Do you know how long it will last? (Can I keep it?)

Answer 1

This is probably just a normal effect of the flu. Losing part of one's range after the flu is probably normal. I lost about an octave of high range for a few weeks after I had the flu, and it came back naturally. Trying not to sing too much might help.

Answer 2

This is normal after such an illness, and full voice recovery should be expected within 45 days or less.

It's important to note that many orally-delivered steroids will cause a thin, trebly quality to the speaking (and singing) voice, but that situation normally fades within a week after the steroid cycle is complete.

Answer 3

Yes, sickness certainly does affect the singing (and spoken) voice - for a period after a serious bout of flu. I would recommend giving yourself several weeks to recover, building up what you expect of your voice slowly again. Much the same way a sportsperson would return to full "match fitness" after an injury, the same is true of the voice which needs to be slowly brought back to its pre-illness state.

Answer 4

This question is now over a year old. So DID you keep it?

(Yes, technically a comment. But, in the interests of getting it noticed and hopefully responded to, don't jump on it for a bit? Then it may be able to be turned into a pretty definitive answer!)