Signs of aging include more than receding hairlines and gums, wrinkles, painful joints, and clogged arteries. As with everything else, your voice ages too. Most people don’t think about taking care of their “voice muscles” like they would their biceps, so here are some tips to help keep your voice from growing old.

What Are the Signs of an “Old” Voice?

Have you ever talked to someone on the phone and determined the person is old just by the sound of his/her voice? You’ve likely heard an older person speak with that classic gravely, weak. raspy, wavering, hoarse, or breathless voice.

How You Make Sound

Voice production relies on three things:

1. A vibration source (two flexible bands of muscle tissue, a.k.a. vocal cords) — The vocal cords open when you breathe and then close and vibrate together to produce sound.

2. A power source (lungs) — As air passes through your vocal cords, the surrounding muscles and the bands move closer together and vibrate to make sound.

3. The throat, mouth, lips, tongue, and teeth to modify the sound

The Four Key Causes of Sounding Old

Over 30% of people over age 65 have voice problems.

1. Reduced elasticity: Aging vocal cords become less elastic (just like aging skin and muscles) and are unable to lengthen and tighten like they used to. When vocal cords lengthen (tighten), they produce a higher pitch. When they shorten (loosen), they produce a lower pitch.

1. Decreased lung capacity: By the time you’re 80, you may have 50% less volume compared to when you were 20. Lung tissue helps keep airways open, but can lose its stretchability. When the airways cannot open as much, it results in smaller airways. That is, you end up with a weaker power source.

3. Vocal cord dehydration: Due to a decrease in blood supply and number of lubricating glands, the vocal cords can dry out, causing hoarseness, a sore throat, and a cough — all of which can damage vocal cords.

4. Vocal cord atrophy (thinning): Just like all muscles in the body thin with age, the vocal cords and muscles in the larynx (a.k.a. voice box) wear out and become more thin (shrink) too. As a result, the voice may sound higher.

Surgical voice lifts (for atrophy) — Just like a face lift, some Americans are undergoing a “voice lift”. In this procedure, fat or collagen from other parts of the body are injected into the vocal cords. The injection ‘plumps’ them up, so the vocal cords are closer together, which enable them to vibrate better and produce a stronger sound.

Top 10 Tips to Keep Your Voice Younger Longer

Here are some quick fixes to slow and minimize the aging of your voice.

1. Exercise. Do exercises that strengthen the diaphragm, abdominals, back, neck, shoulders to hold yourself upright. Poor posture prevents deep breathing and adequate air flow. In order to form a sound, your abdominals and diaphragm need to squeeze your lungs with enough power to exhale the air.

2. Care for teeth and gums. When you lose a tooth, the jawbone starts to

3. Avoid shouting or yelling. The more you strain your muscles, the weaker, more tired and inflamed they’ll become. When your vocal cords ‘bang’ together, nodules (callous-like growths) can form or a vocal hemorrhage can occur.

1. Drink lots of water to keep your voice box moist, so they produce thin, watery mucus and don’t dehydrate. Your vocal cords vibrate more than 100 times a second when you speak. So in order to stay hydrated, sip water every 15 minutes — at least 8 cups of water daily.

5. Control coughing. Seek remedies if you have a bad cough as it can scar your vocal cords. Then rest your voice for a couple of days to allow the vocal cords to heal. If you have a chronic cough that last more than two weeks, be sure to seek medical attention to avoid permanent hoarseness and to diagnose any other underlying problem.

Thickened mucus increases the amount of mass that needs to vibrate and results in a lower pitched voice. NOTE: Decongestants can dehydrate the vocal cords.

6. Limit alcohol to one serving per day. Alcohol can inflame the mucous membranes of your throat.

7. Avoid acid reflux culprits (e.g., fatty foods, carbonated drinks, alcohol, acidic foods). Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) irritates and dries out the throat.

8. Sing! Singing uses your vocal muscles. Professional singers know how to keep their larynx muscles strong as well as how to preserve their voice. Tip: If you sing in the shower, the steam will help lubricate your voice box.

9. Stay sociable. As adults get older, they often become more socially isolated and speak less.

10. Don’t smoke or vape. Both can compromise your power source (lungs) and cause vocal cord injury. Nicotine can dry out vocal cords and hot, throat-irritating vaporized chemicals from vaping can cause the lining and tissue of the vocal cords to swell.

The Takeaway: Take care of your vocal cords by treating them well and getting plenty of exercise. Also, DO NOT assume changes in your voice are due to aging. Be sure to see your physician to rule out other medical conditions that could be developing, especially if you have a history of smoking and drinking.

Karen Owoc, ACSM-CEP, ACSM/ACS-CET, is a clinical exercise physiologist in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, health educator, and author of “Athletes in Aprons: The Nutrition Playbook to Break 100”. karenowoc.com