Ftm Voice on Testosterone

It is generally assumed that testosterone itself will result in "passable" vocal changes, this is true for many trans men but not all. One major issue that trans men face is that of entrapped ftm voice where the new male vocal folds can become entrapped within a larynx that hasn't enlarged enough. The resultant voice will sound weak, permanently hoarse and lack the right harmonics. It is suggested that vocal training and a an incremental and slower approach to testosterone (Slowly increasing the testosterone dose as would happen in a cis male going through puberty rather than starting at a high dose) can prevent this from happening.

Vocal changes are more successful when transition is initiated before the mid-twenties as ossification starts only a few years after the full development of the larynx is completed (around age 25 for the thyroid cartilage and slightly later for the cricoid and arytenoids), however these cartilages do not become truly osseous for most people until the person reaches the age of 60. By contrast, the corniculate cartilages (cornicula laryngis), which consist of fibro-cartilage, do not finally ossify until the person reaches about the age of 70. So the effect isn't as major as one might fear.