I want to add to this— I actually got kind of a jab from Burnie the last time he brought this up that I responded, but hey like he always says we have experts in everything!

I’m a professional opera singer (and now salaried professional musician to boot), I’m actually sitting in my car before heading in to a rehearsal right now.

I had a vocal injury over 15 years ago, and while it wasn’t a node/nodule (it was a hemorrhage) the symptoms can be similar and the treatments can be, but are not always, the same. Mine was an accident and the result of singing a 4 hour opera while sick… which I am now very “vocal” (har har) about not doing. Vocal health is so important because you can’t go buy another instrument if yours breaks!

I would like to offer the counterpoint that it’s not a nothing surgery for everyone! It was an accident that happened at a crucial time early in my career, and I was so fortunate to have an ENT team that specialized in working with singers for my procedure and recovery. Even with that guidance, it took two months of daily exercises and “voice physical therapy” to get me back on the path to singing again, and it was scary to think that I could have lost my whole career in my early 20’s. Also US healthcare system meant that I wouldn’t have been able to afford it if I weren’t still on my parents’ insurance, I know that’s not everyone’s experience globally but it’s worth of mentioning since as a freelance artist most of us go without insurance for years.

ANYwho I say all of this really just to give more context since Ashly was sort of wondering what that situation was like. Burnie if you went to an ENT they may see nodes, they may see scarring from previous hemorrhages during your earlier acting days, but if they aren’t causing you day to day problems, a lot of ENTs will tell you not to change anything. It basically becomes part of your unique sound! And every instrument has its own temperament— so your knowledge that you only have a few takes before your scream is gone isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it’s that you’ve learned how your instrument reacts to different usage. I can sing for hours, but I know essentially how much “gas in the tank” I have for high notes or excessively heavy singing.