I did not have much of a voice. It was very weak and raspy. I couldn’t talk on the phone. This is because my vagus nerve was severed and therefore my left vocal cord is paralyzed. A couple of months later I had an injection into the vocal cord to plump it up so that my cords could again come together and make sound. It isn’t perfect but it is so much better than it was. I also sometimes have trouble swallowing clear liquids as they go down so fast and can go down the wrong tube. I try to always use a straw and that helps a lot. All in all, much better than before surgery!