Question: I am 19 years old, male. I have a high pitched male voice, I mean I am misunderstood as a lady most frequently when I answer the phone. this has been a great concern to me since most of my life but it really affected me after my friends got their voices roughen. And also once I am too tired or under a pressure situation words don’t come out, time to time once or two comes out, in these occasions people ask whether I am ill. Now I am fed up of this situation. Please……..can I know what the reason might be for this? Can I get a remedy for this, specially a non surgical one, please help me…….
Answer: As a young male enters puberty, there is a change in the voice box (or larynx) that general makes the voice become lower in pitch. This is the same change that makes a male’s “adam’s apple” more visible at this time. In some, the change comes earlier and in others, later.
Having a voice that is “too high” can be quite stressful for a young man. However, in most this will resolve- If not, we would first recommend speech therapy, to help change how you use your vocal cords.
If that should fail, there is a simple surgical procedure, a type of thryoplasty, which removes some of the tension on the vocal cords and is generally successful in lowering pitch of a high pitched male voice.
I hope this clears things up.
Robert Pincus MD
Frequently Asked Questions
The pitch of a male voice typically lowers during puberty due to changes in the larynx and vocal cords. However, this change can occur earlier or later in some individuals, causing a higher-pitched voice that may persist into late adolescence.
Fatigue and stressful situations can impact the ability to produce clear speech, sometimes causing words to come out slowly or with hesitation. This may lead others to mistakenly think you are ill, but it is often related to temporary strain on vocal coordination and muscle control.
Yes, speech therapy is often the first recommended approach to address a high-pitched male voice. It helps by teaching techniques to modify vocal cord usage and improve voice resonance, which can result in a noticeably lower pitch without surgical intervention.
If speech therapy is unsuccessful, a surgical procedure called thyroplasty may be performed. This surgery reduces tension on the vocal cords to lower the pitch of the voice and is generally successful with minimal risk.
No, a high-pitched voice in males is not always permanent. Many young men experience voice changes throughout puberty at different rates, and some voices may lower over time naturally or with therapy.
A high-pitched male voice can sound similar to a female voice, especially over the phone where audio quality is limited. This leads to frequent misunderstandings when identifying the speaker's gender by voice alone.
