Singing in a choir may preserve your voice in older age, a new study finds.
Our voices naturally change as we age and shakiness, hoarseness, and changes in pitch may result in trouble communicating. Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine wanted to see whether choral singing might help preserve the voice into older adulthood.
Thirteen singers were compared with five non-singing controls before and after 15-20 months. All of the participants were over the age of 65. The voices of the singing group were found to have changed less, including less hoarseness, better diction, and better breath control. A larger percentage of listeners judged the non-singing controls as voice-disordered after the second visit.
While the study is small, it suggests that singing can help keep you in fine voice into older adulthood.