Generation Grit

Giving hope after losing voice

Crystal Goh had planned to go into music full-time - until she lost her voice to a rare neurological condition. But she has found another voice on behalf of vulnerable young people, helping them turn their life stories into music. Her story is part of a series on millennials who inspire us.

Singer-songwriter Crystal Goh lost her voice after being diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia. She later recovered and founded Diamonds on the Street, an initiative where she teaches vulnerable teenagers to turn their life experiences into song.
Ms Crystal Goh suffers from a rare neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia that sends muscles in her voice box into spasms.
Ms Crystal Goh suffers from a rare neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia that sends muscles in her voice box into spasms. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Theresa Tan
Senior Social Affairs Correspondent
Updated
Sep 26, 2018, 05:29 PM
Published
Sep 26, 2018, 05:00 AM
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

The day is etched in her memory. Ms Crystal Goh woke up one morning in April 2011 and could not muster a decipherable word.

"It sounded like I was having a very bad sore throat. Like I was being strangled," she said. "People couldn't understand me when I spoke."

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

ST One Digital

 $9.90/month

No contract

ST app access on 1 mobile device

Subscribe now

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 26, 2018, with the headline Giving hope after losing voice. Subscribe

Available for
iPhones and iPads
Available in
Google Play

MCI (P) 066/10/2023. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2024 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

Back to the top