Do you get worse at singing as you age?

As you enter your 60s and 70s, your voice starts to change. Your vocal folds weaken, cartilage in the larynx begins to ossify, and your respiratory system (which helps power your voice) begins to work less efficiently. The result? Men's voices go up, and women's go down.

aarp.org - Voice Exercises - Strategies to Improve Your Aging Voice - AARP

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3. Sing along

"The benefits of healthy singing can't be underestimated," says Edie Hapner, director of speech language pathology at the Emory University Voice Center in Atlanta. "Trained singers have been found to be able to keep their vocal youth much longer than nonsingers." Sing along to the radio or a CD or join a church choir. Hapner also recommends karaoke, with a caveat: If the joint's really rocking, you'll have to compete with a lot of noise in order to be heard. Look for somewhere quieter. Go too loud for too long, says Hapner, and you may lose your voice to laryngitis, a swelling of your vocal folds.

4. Move it or lose it

Your voice works best when your whole body's in good shape, Hapner notes. "Your voice is a reflection of your health," she says. "If you let your body become deconditioned, people are going to hear that in your voice." So be sure to stay physically active. Even an exercise as simple as walking can provide fitness benefits that extend to your voice.

5. Go pro

Humming into straws, singing your favorite songs, reading out loud — these and other exercises can help keep your voice youthful. But you have to practice them correctly to benefit. To do that, seek out a vocal coach, a singing instructor or a vocologist, a speech language pathologist with additional training in voice. Such experts, says Johnson, a former singing teacher himself, will evaluate your voice, teach you exercises tailored to your needs, and work with you to be sure you're doing them right. "You can learn a lot in just a few lessons," he points out. Vocal therapy may also be right for you. Effective therapies for the aging voice teach exercises that build up the voice muscles and the respiratory system. Once you learn them, you can practice at home; only a few minutes a day can help your voice. Be sure to check with your insurance company to make certain you're covered. Although Medicare and Medicaid will pay for voice therapy that a doctor deems medically necessary, some private insurers won't, says Johnson. "This is an area of contention in our field and something we are continually working on." Such therapy is likely to become much more common thanks to increasing awareness and demand from boomers, who will want and need strong voices in the workplace and elsewhere. "Our voices are much more important to us," says Hapner, who observes that many boomers will continue to work past the traditional retirement age of 65. "I predict that I am going to be busier."

Matt McMillen is a freelance writer for AARP Media.

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What is the loudest human voice?

Miss Flanagan entered the record books back in 1994 with a thunderous rendition of 'quiet!' The shout clocked up an earth-shattering 121.7 decibels, setting a world record.

bbc.co.uk - Belfast teacher has 'world's loudest shout' - CBBC Newsround

Pupils at a school in Belfast had their classroom shaken by a sound louder than a rock concert this week. What was the sound? No other than their teacher, who just happens to have the world's loudest shout. Miss Flanagan entered the record books back in 1994 with a thunderous rendition of 'quiet!'

The shout clocked up an earth-shattering 121.7 decibels, setting a world record.

Luckily for her pupils, Miss Flanagan says she never uses her secret weapon in class.

"I'm really not a shouter," she said.

"Also, after the first couple of weeks of teaching you can't be shouting all year. I'm hoarse all the time as it is." Miss Flanagan discovered her record breaking shout at a summer camp that was holding a record breaking day.

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