Does Height Increase After Voice Change?

Significant height increase generally stops after voice change is complete. Voice change is a key physical development that occurs during male puberty, a period marked by rapid growth and maturation.

## The Pubertal Growth Spurt and Voice Change

Puberty involves a significant growth spurt, which is a period of accelerated increase in height and weight. Voice change, caused by the growth of the larynx (voice box), happens as part of this broader pubertal process. Consequently, the time when a male's voice is deepening is often when he is experiencing his most rapid increase in height.

## Research Findings on Growth Timing

Research indicates a strong association between the timing of voice breaking and periods of faster height gain. For example, one study found:

> "Males with complete or starting voice breaking at 14 yr showed faster gains in weight and also in height during childhood compared with those with no voice breaking, during both prepubertal childhood (2–7 yr) and early adolescence (7–14 yr)."

This finding highlights that faster height gains occur during the period leading up to and including the onset or completion of voice breaking in early adolescence (up to age 14 in this study). This suggests that the main growth phase is linked to the time voice change is happening, not primarily after it's finished.

## Why Growth Stops After Puberty

After pubertal development, including the completion of voice change, is largely finished, the growth plates located at the ends of long bones fuse together. This process is known as epiphyseal closure. Once these growth plates have fused, the bones can no longer lengthen, and significant height increase ceases.

## Key Points on Height and Voice Change

*   Voice change is a characteristic sign of male puberty.
*   The period of rapid height increase (the growth spurt) happens during puberty, concurrently with other changes like voice breaking.
*   Studies show that faster height gains are associated with the time when voice breaking occurs or begins in early adolescence.
*   Significant height growth stops after puberty is complete and voice change has occurred, due to the fusion of growth plates.

**In summary**, while height increases rapidly *during* the period of voice change as part of the pubertal growth spurt, significant height increase typically stops *after* the voice change process is complete and puberty has ended due to the fusion of growth plates.