OThe screenings began on Monday and continue until Friday, the 14th, as this week precedes World Voice Day, which is celebrated on Sunday, April 16th. They are carried out in the Voice Unit of Hospital Egas Moniz, but promoted by the Management of Artists’ Rights (GDA) and respective Foundation.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, the coordinator of the Voice Unit, and an otorhinolaryngologist specializing in the artistic voice, explained that these are screenings open to the entire population, but above all to those who make their voice their profession.
“People who professionally need their voice have every interest in being screened, as well as some pathologies or some abuses, such as smokers”, said Clara Capucho.
He pointed out that they could not fail to highlight the voice of transgender people, as it is “a voice in which most of the population feels vocal discomfort and feels, in terms of physical and mental health, very affected”.
“Because his voice does not match his own body”, he stressed.
In this sense, he stressed that the objective is “to help everything that is voice and to recover”.
“For the person, knowing that their voice is their identity, identifying with it and feeling good in their day-to-day”, said Clara Capucho.
The doctor also underlined that the Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Oeste, where Hospital Egas Moniz is located, has a multidisciplinary consultation for transgender people with different specialties, one of which is voice otorhinolaryngology.
According to the specialist, the hormone treatment that many transgender people undergo in their gender change “starts to give a vocal change right away”, but that alone may not be enough for the person to identify with their own voice .
“It’s not enough because physically many times we also have to get into the aesthetic part of the cervical part, the so-called Adam’s apple, and, on the other hand, a man’s voice box is always substantially larger than a woman’s. In the transgender woman, we have to reduce the glottis and, therefore, there are a series of procedures that have to be done that are very delicate, they have to be done very well, so that we can produce the effect that you want for the person to feel good with herself and her voice becoming her identity”, he explained.
He added that these surgeries take place within the scope of a protocol that establishes, from the outset, a prior screening in the sexology/psychiatry consultation to define the transition path and subsequent interaction with other specialties, such as endocrinology or speech therapy.
He pointed out that when there is a hormonal part there is a change in the voice, but this turns out not to be enough for the transgender person to identify with his voice, since in addition to surgery or speech therapy it is also necessary for the person to say what is the voice fits itself.
He also revealed that later this year the voice consultation for transgender people will be expanded, giving it a “deeper” approach.
The expert said that “each person is different”, which is why “the voice unit approach is very important”.
According to doctor Clara Capucho, it is still possible to register for this week’s screening — through the website www.fundacaogda.pt/dia-mundial-da-voz-registo -, estimating to serve around 40 people a day.
On the 12th of April there will also be screenings at the Porto Coliseum, with several initiatives planned to mark World Voice Day, including a show at the Estoril Academy of Arts on the 15th, a show at the Teatro Garcia Recendo, in Évora, on the 16th, in addition to two conferences on the importance of voice on the 18th and 21st of April.
Also Read: Cartoonist Al Jaffee dies at 102 in Manhattan
Always be the first to know.
Seventh consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press.
Download our free App.
