Kimberly Williams-Paisley Talks about Getting Her Voice Back after Losing It Two Years Ago
According to an interview with PEOPLE, about five or six years ago, she started noticing that her voice was getting higher and that she had less control over it. Then, two years ago, in 2022, Kimberly was on stage in Nashville at an Alzheimer’s event she had created. She was the host, and nothing came out when she went to speak.
Kimberly Williams Paisley’s Voice Didn’t Come Back the Next Day
While they laughed it off at the time, her voice didn’t come back the next day. “The day after that, it was maybe a little bit better, but it just sounded really whispery and high and weak,” she shared. She tried hot tea and vocal rest during the next few months. She also started working with a voice coach.
While on the Red Carpet for the Netflix movie Dog Gone, she couldn't do the interviews. “It was terrifying. I went into the bathroom and cried. I had a couple of my dear friends there who just held my hand in the ladies' room,” Kimberly says. She goes on to share that she felt like she sounded weak but didn’t feel weak. It had to be so frustrating for her.
She then went to the Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville, where she received her first diagnosis of Muscle tension dysphonia, one of the most common voice disorders. According to the University of Michigan Health, muscle tension dysphonia occurs when the muscles around your voice box (the larynx) are so tight when you speak that they don’t work efficiently.
She Needed to Calm Her Nervous System
She then had many other tests and treatments during the following year, including going to a dentist, which helped calm her nervous system and ground her. This allowed Vanderbilt Voice Center to finally see what was happening with her vocal cords now that the muscles had relaxed. They were not able to get a good look before.
That is when she discovered that it could have been a virus or a series of viruses that built up over time. This caused nerve weakness in the Recurrent laryngeal nerve, which caused partial paralysis.
As a very social person, she struggled with being unable to talk as usual. “Once I got that diagnosis, I felt like my whole body could relax in a whole new way because the shame and the blame dissipated,” Kimberly shared. She now knew it wasn’t something she had done wrong. And there was a fix.
The Next Step Was Surgery
The next step was to have surgery, and she would have to be awake for it. Something that sounds pretty terrifying. But she felt it was symbolic that she would have to be fully present and couldn't sleep through it. “And I was really ready for it,” she shares. “I was excited. There was no part of me that didn’t want to do it.”
She shared that they made her an implant right there in the room. They had to have her talk when they were testing it, which is why she needed to be awake for the surgery. “It felt great. It was a little bit horse at first, but it just felt. It felt great to just be able to have tone again. And it was wonderful,” she shares.
She finally shared on social media what had been happening with her voice after the surgery and received a wonderful response. “I am someone that tries to find the silver lining no matter what. So I’m like my own best and worst cheerleader,” the actress shares. “There were days when I really grieved. There were days when I sobbed to the people on my team.”
She Was Grateful for Her Husband and Boys
Kimberly Williams-Paisley was so grateful that her husband, Brad, and her boys were with her through all this. Brad even gave her a big pink megaphone, which she joked was very much needed with teenagers in the house. Going forward, she shared how she wants to be brave in using her voice and not letting things go unsaid. Going through this medical experience improved her life, even if it was very challenging at times.
Whenever we experience something difficult, as Kimberly did, we know we can come to God with our worries and our prayers and that he will be there with us through it all. He will send family and friends for support and allow us to grow during the journey of whatever we might be dealing with.
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’” - Jeremiah 30:17
WATCH: Kimberly Williams-Paisley Shares about Her Medical Challenges That Led to Losing Her Voice
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Photo Credit: ©YouTube/People
Originally published January 08, 2025.
