Does Menopause Change Your Voice?What Studies Show

Some women notice their voice has dropped, tires faster or sounds rougher in their fifties. Studies of menopause and voice suggest there is a shift, and that it’s usually small.

How much pitch changes

A review pooled 8 studies comparing women before and after menopause:¹

• Speaking pitch was about 1 semitone lower after menopause.¹
• That’s below the change most listeners can detect, and far from the range that makes a voice sound male.¹
• Other measures of voice steadiness and breath support didn’t differ.¹

A study of 100 women in Turkey found postmenopausal voices were lower in pitch, but women’s own ratings of how their voice affected daily life didn’t differ from younger women’s.²

The studies were snapshots comparing different women, and simple sound measures may miss changes in the vocal folds.¹

Hormone therapy and pitch

A review of 11 studies found postmenopausal women using hormone therapy had voices about 12 Hz higher in pitch than women not using it.³ The difference showed up in women of normal weight, not in those with a higher BMI.³ All the studies compared groups at one point in time,³ so they can’t show hormone therapy caused the difference.

The testosterone warning

Testosterone is a different story. Voice clinics reported 9 women, average age 55, whose voices deepened after starting testosterone, most often as implanted pellets; six were taking it for menopause symptoms.⁴

• Changes appeared anywhere from right away to four years later.⁴
• Stopping treatment and voice therapy helped some, but the changes may be permanent.⁴

If you use your voice for work or singing, raise this before starting testosterone; see testosterone questions.

When to get checked

• Hoarseness lasting more than about three weeks; see persistent hoarse voice.
• A deepening voice together with rapidly increasing facial or body hair; see new facial hair after menopause.

Try: “My voice has gotten lower and tires easily since menopause. I sing in a choir. Is this hormonal, and would a voice therapist help?”

My Body Changed. Now What? puts a deepening voice with fast-growing facial or body hair on the Red-Flag List in Chapter 3, “Isn’t This Just Aging?,” as a change that needs prompt assessment. Its Visit Brief lists your top three changes and their impact, so a voice change gets its own line at the appointment. See the book.