Yeah, I noticed a big shift in my voice after jaw surgery too, and honestly, it threw me off way more than I expected. For me, it wasn’t just the sound, but also how my mouth moved—like, suddenly I had to re-learn how to pronounce certain words. My S’s and TH’s were the worst, especially when I was tired or after a long day of talking at work.
What really surprised me was how long the adjustment phase lasted. I figured it’d be a few weeks, but it was more like months before things started to feel “normal” again. Even now, a year out, I still get self-conscious if I hear a recording of myself. I did end up budgeting for a few speech therapy sessions, which helped a bit, but honestly, I think a lot of it just comes down to patience.
One thing I wish I’d realized sooner: the lisp and the weirdness aren’t always permanent, but yeah, sometimes they just stick around. At a certain point, it’s like, is it worth stressing over? I decided it wasn’t, especially after seeing what those therapy sessions cost...
That’s interesting—my experience was pretty similar, but I’m still surprised at how much the biomechanics of speech changed after surgery. I remember thinking, “How can moving my jaw a few millimeters make me sound like a totally different person?” But yeah, the S’s and TH’s were a mess for me too. I kept catching myself slurring words, especially late in the day when my jaw muscles were tired. It’s wild how much we take those little muscle movements for granted.
I did the speech therapy route too, but honestly, like you said, patience was the biggest factor. I found that reading aloud (even if it felt awkward) helped more than anything formal. Also, not gonna lie, hearing my “new” voice on recordings was a little jarring at first. I guess at some point you just stop caring as much. The cost of therapy is no joke—my insurance barely covered any of it, so I had to get creative.
If it helps, my lisp faded almost completely after about 10 months, but there are still days where my tongue feels like it’s figuring things out all over again.
Yeah, I totally relate to the sticker shock with speech therapy—my insurance barely chipped in, so I ended up watching YouTube videos and practicing in front of the mirror a lot. Reading out loud felt weird at first, but it actually helped more than I expected. I still cringe a little hearing my voice on calls, but after a while, you just kind of accept it. Some days my tongue still feels clumsy, especially if I’m tired or stressed. It’s wild how such a small change messes with all those little sounds.
That weirdness with your voice—yeah, I felt that too. After my jaw surgery, it was like I had to relearn how to talk. I remember my grandkids laughing the first time I tried to read them a story after surgery, because the “s” sounds came out all over the place. It took me months to stop feeling self-conscious on phone calls. The mirror trick helped, but honestly, some days it still feels off, especially if I’m tired or if my dentures aren’t sitting quite right.
I do think fatigue makes it worse—my tongue just doesn’t want to cooperate by the end of the day. Did you notice any difference with certain foods or drinks? For me, anything cold seemed to make my mouth feel stiffer, which made talking even trickier. Just curious if that’s common or if it’s just one of those odd side effects...
That’s really helpful to hear, thank you for sharing. My kid’s speech has been all over the place since surgery, and honestly, I’ve worried it might never sound “normal” again. Fatigue definitely seems to make it worse for them too. Cold drinks are a problem here as well—makes everything feel stiffer and harder to move their mouth, almost like it’s frozen up. I keep wondering if this is just how it’s going to be, but hearing your story gives me a bit of hope that it gets better with time.
