How radio king Neil Mitchell found his voice again after battle with Vocal Chord Dysfunction

After battling a vocal chord issue that threatened to keep him off the air, talkback radio king Neil Mitchell has bounced back with the help of a new diet.

Neil Mitchell before getting his hair cut this week. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The commanding tones of radio powerhouse Neil Mitchell are back to full force after a long-running glitch in his voice was finally solved.

Mitchell had been struggling with issues with his voice during the Covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021 and at times during that period his authoritative views sometimes sounded more like a hoarse whisper.

While it was initially thought to be a case of adult asthma setting in, further investigation finally pinpointed the cause of his vocal restrictions.

“We seem to have got on top of it. It is a thing called Vocal Chord Dysfunction (VCD),” Mitchell said.

Mitchell’s long locks. Picture: Supplied

After the haircut with his Covid mane tamed. Picture: Supplied

“It is not serious or dangerous in anyway, it is just hard to diagnose.

“I went and did all these asthma tests and they said, ‘No, you don’t have asthma.’ In the end I went and saw a really good voice therapist and they got an ENT (ear, nose and throat) guy to stick things down my throat and they showed me on camera what was going on and it was all very yucky.

“There are certain foods that can cause it, like dairy products, so I have changed my diet a bit, and they have given me some breathing and voice exercises to do. It seems to have been OK for the last year, just about.”

While he has made slight modifications to his diet, like, sadly for the sweet tooth limiting his ice cream indulgences, Mitchell has also stopped drinking alcohol.

“I have been off alcohol for nearly three years,” he said.

“There are a number of very good, craft, non-alcoholic beers around. The wine is crap.

“I was not drinking a lot, I just feel better when I don’t. I do miss a glass of wine occasionally, that is all, but that is not the end of the world.”

Meanwhile, Mitchell made news during the week for, of all things, a hair cut.

The talkback newsbreaker finally got the snip on his flowing Covid locks that had flourished during the past two years.

His flowing silver mane – giving him a bit of a wild man of radio vibe – was quite the statement and I was not alone in being sorry to see it tamed. Even AFL boss Gill McLachlan lobbied him to keep his distinctive locks.