Canadian songstress Shania Twain recently revealed that the cause of her temporary vocal struggle was linked to Lyme disease, an infection caused by a bacteria spread through ticks.
Back in 2011, she opened up about her struggle with dysphonia, which is a medical condition that left her unable to sing.
She now says it was more than stress that led to that condition, and though she doesn’t go into much detail about it, she says that the condition was brought on by Lyme disease.
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While speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the Party For Two singer explained that she went through extensive therapy to get her voice back before the start of her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2012.
She said that the voice-strengthening exercises and intense vocal warm-ups helped her learn more about her own vocal chords and herself.
“I learned a lot about myself, and my voice, both because I’d been having a lot of problems with my voice prior, and because this was a real plunge into the unknown,” Twain said.
Twain went on to dominate Las Vegas from 2012 to 2014, and then joined the Rock This Country Tour in 2015 and 2016.
The Any Man of Mine singer debuted her new single, Life’s About to Get Good, during her headlining set at the Stagecoach Festival this past weekend in California. Her new album is expected to be released in September.
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Twain joins a long list of celebrities who have struggled with Lyme disease.
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite in spring 2014, and was bedridden for five months.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk, and I couldn’t move,” the Canadian singer told People at the time. “I thought I was dying.”
Lavigne said she felt lethargic and lightheaded for months but didn’t know why. She finally got a diagnosis of Lyme disease.
“I had no idea a bug bite could do this,” said Lavigne.
In 2015, Lavigne revealed that she was about halfway through her treatment in an interview with ABC News.
READ MORE: Avril Lavigne expects to recover fully from Lyme disease
Yolanda Hadid, ex-wife of Canadian music producer David Foster, has publicly shared her battle with Lyme disease. The 53-year-old said it left her unable to “process information or any stimulation.”
Other celebrities who currently live with the affliction are Ashley Olsen, Kelly Osbourne, Bella Hadid and Daryl Hall.
Lyme disease is a bacteria that’s transmitted through the bites of infected deer ticks, which can be about the size of poppy seeds. Female ticks can grow up to 100 times their original size after feeding on blood, experts say.
Unlike mosquitoes that can transfer West Nile to humans with a single bite, the tick has to be attached to the body for at least 24 to 36 hours.
You can find more information on the multitude of Lyme disease symptoms on the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation website.
— With files from Carmen Chai
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