Vaping effect on Singing

[skrymir]

I'm not sure if this is a lounge topic or not, so if its in the wrong place please move it.

I was wondering if there were any singers out there who had noticed if vaping had an effect on their singing voice?

I'm a Bass-Baritone and I smoked nearly a pack a day while singing regularly for the past 15+ years. One of the reasons I quit was because of singing and how it affected my breath control, the fatigue it put on my voice, and how I often got sick and had nasty coughs come concert times.

Now that I've made the switch to vaping I've noticed I'm losing some of my low range but I'm wondering if that might just be transient since I switched from being a dual user to straight vaping recently (more like praying that it is since the low range stuff is my bread and butter).

I'm just wondering what other singers may have noticed.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

I sing in the cellar too. Did you notice a slightly sore throat as well? It's probably your throat healing. I lost minimal range for about three months but it slowly came back good as ever if not better. Sure makes breathing from the abdomen better. Scary trying not to cough or choke up during a performance. I don't depend on it for a living though.

 

[AndriaD]

I sing for my own pleasure, but what I've discovered is that my high range has come back to something I haven't experienced since I was in my teens (I started smoking at not-quite 14). I was afraid that would mean I would lose the low range I'd gained from 39 yrs of smoking, but it doesn't seem to have affected that, though it may be a bit weaker than it was. Over the last year, I've gone thru stages with it -- initially I noticed high notes coming back; then I struggled for a while with phlegm around my vocal cords, which bothered my low notes, but that was too-high VG; since boosting the PG slightly, some of that has disappeared.

Andria

 

[skrymir]

Thanks guys... I do have a sore throat and am quite phlegmy but those are similar symptoms to my other quit attempts over the years and I don't recall having this kind of range problem.

I don't rely on singing for my income but it does add to my available spending cash.

I'm worried about the VG thing since I tend to like high VG juices (I found even 50/50 a wee bit harsh). I have about a month to figure it out before I start rehearsing again (Bach B minor mass!) so hopefully it sorts itself out/I can find the right juice mix in that time.

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks guys... I do have a sore throat and am quite phlegmy but those are similar symptoms to my other quit attempts over the years and I don't recall having this kind of range problem.

I don't rely on singing for my income but it does add to my available spending cash.

I'm worried about the VG thing since I tend to like high VG juices (I found even 50/50 a wee bit harsh). I have about a month to figure it out before I start rehearsing again (Bach B minor mass!) so hopefully it sorts itself out/I can find the right juice mix in that time.

High VG definitely causes phlegm problems for a LOT of people -- I have to vape 85% PG just for that reason, VG bothers my asthma so much; I'm even considering boosting it to 86% to see if I can eliminate my late-night wheezing problems.

If PG bothers you, you might try adding a little distilled water, to keep the VG thinner.

Andria

 

[Wuzznt Me]

Thanks guys... I do have a sore throat and am quite phlegmy but those are similar symptoms to my other quit attempts over the years and I don't recall having this kind of range problem.

I don't rely on singing for my income but it does add to my available spending cash.

I'm worried about the VG thing since I tend to like high VG juices (I found even 50/50 a wee bit harsh). I have about a month to figure it out before I start rehearsing again (Bach B minor mass!) so hopefully it sorts itself out/I can find the right juice mix in that time.

I don't know what nic level you're at but lowering it a little helps with the harsh if you can handle it without going back to smokes.

If PG bothers you, you might try adding a little distilled water, to keep the VG thinner.

I use as high a vg as possible so I guess I'm not one of the folks that it affects like that. I always add 1.5% to 2% distilled water to any juice. It seems to keep from clogging my attys up and vaporizes a lot better. I read somewhere what the max you're supposed to use but don't remember it. 3% sticks in my mind but my mind is becoming more unreliable every year.

 

[skrymir]

I subohm so I only use 3mg or 6mg juice (but mainly 3mg). I'll try using more pg to see if that helps.

Thanks again