The real voice of Elizabeth Holmes in question in Theranos Doc

HBO has released a new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the fraudulent health technology company Theranos, which raises some eyebrows – but not just for medical fraud.

The film, called The inventor: looking for blood in Silicon Valley, details how Holmes convinced people that his blood test devices could detect a series of diseases at one time, using much less blood than existing tests.

Although all this is obviously interesting (look at it seriously if you are interested in a fraud, a blood test or, in the best case, both!), The film also includes interviews with Holmes (pre-scandal, etc. .). ), during which you can hear his voice very serious (and apparently false).

Really. Former colleagues and acquaintances of Elizabeth told ABC Radio – via their joint podcast on Holmes, The stall, along with ABC News Nightline – that Holmes simulated his deep voice. "It may have been at one of the company's parties, and maybe she had too much to drink or not, but she fell into the trap and revealed that it was not necessarily his true voice, "said one of his former employees of Theranos.

It was at this point that theories began to make their way: did Holmes accentuate the voice for it to convey authority? Does she call for vocal fry?

Well, did Elizabeth Holmes use vocal fry?

Just to clarify something from the start: Holmes never spoke publicly about the tone of his voice, so it's impossible to know what was going on there. But Eric Hunter, PhD, a professor and badociate research dean at Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts and Sciences, says "she seems to be talking less than her optimal voice."

Here's what we know for sure: Frying Voice is the most serious sound of your voice and produces a deep, squeaky and breathable sound, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. When using vocal fry, you relax your vocal cords, but do not increase the amount of air you push through your vocal cords. As a result, you produce slower vibrations and get a deep, squeaky voice.

Voice frying is considered part of normal speech and can be presented in a variety of ways, according to Aaron Johnson, PhD, speech therapist at NYU Langone Voice Center. Voice frying is common at the end of sentences – your tone can drop and become hoarse at the end of something you say.

But people – maybe like Holmes – can also consciously engage in vocal fry and use them as "talking voices," he says. "This is something we see in people who hold important positions or want to be perceived as authoritative. They will often lower their voices to have an imposing presence, "says Johnson. Hm.

Can using vocal fries or speaking lower can hurt your voice?

It depends. According to Omid Mehdizadeh, MD, otolaryngologist and laryngologist from Providence Saint John's Santa Center, the day people come in and out of the vocal fry – again, as when they finish a sentence or have just woken up – is harmful Monica, California

If you do it all the time? It's another story. Voice frying involves a certain level of tension and roughness, says Johnson, and that is not really great for your voice if you use it as your normal spoken voice. "It could increase tension on the vocal cords and be potentially dangerous," says Dr. Mehdizadeh. It can mean anything from feeling that your voice is tense or tired to developing nodules on the vocal cords, he says, that require treatment such as voice therapy or surgery.

But lbh, the vocal chords of Holmes are probably the least of his worries right now …