Nasal voice: why you sound nasal and 8 drills to fix it

Two opposite problems share the name "nasal voice," so work out which one you have before you practise anything.

What is a nasal voice?

A nasal voice has the wrong amount of sound resonating in the nose. Too much is called hypernasality: vowels sound twangy, honky or "through the nose." Too little is hyponasality: the blocked, stuffy sound of a heavy cold, where "m" and "n" start to sound like "b" and "d."

In English, only three sounds are meant to travel through the nose: m, n and ng (as in "sing"). For every other sound, the soft palate, the muscular back part of the roof of your mouth, lifts and seals off the nasal passage so the sound leaves through your mouth. A nasal voice is usually a problem with how firmly and quickly that valve closes, or a blockage further forward in the nose.

Speech-language pathologists also describe two less common patterns: cul-de-sac resonance, where sound is trapped and muffled behind an obstruction, and nasal emission, which is air (not sound) escaping through the nose on consonants like p, t and s. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's overview of resonance disorders explains how clinicians tell them apart.

Why do I sound nasal? A 30-second self-test

You can find out which kind of nasality you have in under a minute with two pinch tests. A sentence with no nasal sounds should sound identical with your nose pinched; a sentence full of them should sound very different. Whichever test fails tells you whether you are hypernasal or hyponasal.

Record yourself on your phone while you do these. You hear your own voice partly through your skull, which hides nasality.

1. Oral sentence test (10 seconds). Say "Bob gave the puppy a big hug" normally, then again while pinching your nostrils shut. There are no m, n or ng sounds in it, so it should sound exactly the same both times. If it gets muffled or you feel a strong buzz under your fingers, sound is leaking into your nose: hypernasality.
2. Nasal sentence test (10 seconds). Say "Many men made money" normally, then pinched. The pinched version should sound badly blocked. If the two versions sound almost the same, air was already not getting through your nose: hyponasality.
3. "Mmm" vs "bbb" (10 seconds). Hum "mmm," then say "bbb." Your lips are in the same position for both; the only difference is whether the soft palate is open (m) or closed (b). Now say "mama" and "baba." If "mama" sounds like "baba," you are hyponasal. If "baba" has a hum in it, you are hypernasal.

An optional extra: hold a small cold mirror under your nostrils while saying the oral sentence. If it fogs, air is escaping through your nose. That is worth mentioning to a speech-language pathologist.

What causes a nasal voice?

Most adults who sound nasal have a habit rather than a disorder: a soft palate that lifts lazily, a mouth that barely opens, or a voice deliberately "placed in the nose" for brightness. Blocked noses cause the opposite, stuffy sound. Structural and neurological causes are less common but need professional care.

• Habit. Speaking with a nearly closed jaw and low energy makes the mouth a small exit, so more sound takes the nasal route. Some speakers and singers were also taught to aim the voice "into the nose" and overshot. Some regional accents carry more nasal resonance as a normal feature; that is not a disorder.
• Congestion and allergies. Colds, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis swell the lining of the nose and produce temporary hyponasality. Nasal polyps or a deviated septum can make it last.
• Enlarged adenoids. Mostly in children: tissue at the back of the nose blocks airflow, which can cause a blocked-nose voice, mouth breathing and snoring.
• Cleft palate. The NHS notes that an unrepaired cleft palate can lead to unclear or nasal-sounding speech. ASHA also lists a submucous cleft, hidden under the lining of the palate, among structural causes.
• A weak or poorly coordinated soft palate. Neurological causes such as stroke or brain injury can weaken the muscles that close the valve.
• After surgery. After adenoid removal, the NHS says children may temporarily sound like they are talking through their nose, with the voice usually back to normal after a few weeks.

8 drills to fix a nasal voice

These drills target habit-driven hypernasality. They teach you to feel the soft palate lift, give the sound a wider exit through the mouth, and move brightness forward to the lips instead of up into the nose. Do them for 8 to 10 minutes a day and check each one with the pinch test.

If your problem is hyponasality from congestion, no exercise will open a blocked nose. Deal with the blockage first, then use drill 8 to bring full resonance back to m and n.

1. Yawn-sigh lift (1 minute, 8 reps). Start a real yawn and notice the back of the roof of your mouth rise and the space behind your tongue grow. Sigh out on "hah" from mid pitch downward, keeping that lifted feeling. That lift is the soft palate closing off the nose.
2. Ng-ah switch (2 minutes, 10 reps). Say "ng," as at the end of "sing," which sends all the sound through the nose. Then open straight into "ah" with no gap: "ng-ah, ng-ah." Feel the buzz jump from the nose to the mouth.
3. Oral-nasal contrast pairs (3 minutes). Say each pair slowly: bad/man, bee/me, buy/my, dough/no, bake/make, dead/net. Pinch your nose on every first word: it should sound unchanged. The second word should sound blocked when pinched. You are training a clean on/off switch.
4. Pinch-and-release reading (2 minutes). Read nasal-free sentences while pinching and releasing your nose every few words: "Will you buy a red car?", "Kate baked a pie for Dad.", "Is this the right way to the post office?" The sound should not change at all on release. Any flicker means sound is leaking.
5. Open-mouth vowels (2 minutes). Hypernasality loves a clenched jaw. Say "ah, aw, oh" with the jaw dropping clearly, about a finger's width between your teeth, then words: father, hot, saw, top, cat, apple. Finish with a sentence, keeping the same openness. This overlaps with the drills for speaking more clearly, because open vowels also make words easier to understand.
6. Forward buzz without the nose (2 minutes). Do a lip trill (a relaxed "motorboat") for 10 seconds, then "vvv-ah," "zzz-ee," "vvv-oh." Feel the vibration at your lips and front teeth. Pinch your nose halfway through: if nothing changes, you have the bright, forward, oral resonance most people actually want when they say they want to sound less nasal.
7. Jaw and tongue release (1 minute). Rest your fingertips on the muscles just in front of your ears, open and close your mouth loosely ten times, then say "yah-yah-yah" with a free, dropping jaw. Finish with "kah-gah-kah-gah," which makes the back of the tongue and the soft palate meet and release crisply.
8. Hum into nasal words (2 minutes). For hyponasal voices, or anyone whose m and n sound weak: hum "mmm" until you feel buzz at the lips and nose, then "mmm-many," "nnn-no," "mmm-morning, Nina." The goal is full nasal resonance on m, n and ng, and none anywhere else.

Short on time? Drills 1, 2, 3, 5 and 4, in that order, make a 6-minute daily routine. For a wider routine that also covers breath and projection, see our voice exercises for speaking.

How long does it take to stop sounding nasal?

For habit-driven nasality, most people hear a difference within the first few sessions while doing the drills, and the new placement starts showing up in normal speech after a few weeks of daily practice. Structural causes are different: drills cannot close a gap in the palate. ASHA notes that learned speech patterns often persist after the physical cause is repaired, which is why surgery is usually followed by speech therapy.

Record the same sentence once a week, with the same phone at the same distance, and compare the recordings side by side. If you want more than your ears, Voceris scores resonance and clarity on every recording. It does not test for nasality, but it shows whether opening the mouth and moving the buzz forward is making your voice fuller and clearer.

Balanced resonance is a big part of what makes a voice pleasant to listen to, which is why nasality comes up in our guide on how to make your voice more attractive. For the bigger picture of breath, pitch, pace and tone, start with how to improve your speaking voice.

When to see an ENT or speech-language pathologist

See a professional if your nasality has a physical cause or does not change with drills. An ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor examines the nose, adenoids and palate; a speech-language pathologist assesses resonance and treats it with therapy.

Book an appointment if:

• your voice became nasal suddenly, especially with weakness, facial drooping or trouble swallowing (seek urgent care for these);
• food or liquid comes out of your nose when you swallow;
• air audibly escapes through your nose on p, t or s, or the mirror test fogs;
• a blocked nose lasts long after a cold, is on one side only, or comes with loss of smell or frequent nosebleeds;
• a child sounds nasal, snores or breathes through the mouth, or still sounds nasal several weeks after adenoid or tonsil surgery;
• you have done the drills daily for a few weeks and nothing has changed.

Children born with a cleft palate are usually followed by a speech and language therapist throughout childhood. For adults with a clear nose and a habit, the drills above are the right place to start.