Shania Twain: 'I have lost ability to sing'

Shania Twain has revealed that she has damaged her vocal chords to the point where it has become nearly impossible for her to sing.

The star, who has topped the US album charts twice, claimed in March that she lost the desire to "express" herself through song after discovering that her ex-husband Robert 'Mutt' Lange was having an extramarital affair.

"I have lost my ability to express myself and my ability to sing," she said at the time. "I was slowly losing my voice and... my confidence. Now, my marriage was slowly breaking down too."

In a new interview with E! News, Twain admitted that the stress of her personal life prevented her from effectively taking care of her voice.

"I had reached a point in my life where there was a bottleneck, physically, in my throat," she said. "Something had to give."

After the physical pain became too much to bear, the musician sought help from doctors and was diagnosed with dysphonia, an impairment of the vocal chords.

"I've only just discovered what's wrong," Twain said. "Next comes rehabilitation, which will take a long time. Physical rehabilitation, voice therapy, learning how to breath again… and the singing will come."

Twain has opened up frequently in recent months about the emotional trauma caused by her ex-husband's affair, telling Oprah Winfrey recently that she "didn't want to live" after learning the truth of his relationship with her former friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud.

After divorcing Lange, Twain eventually found comfort with Thiebaud's own former husband Frederic, with the pair eventually marrying in January.

Her series Why Not? with Shania Twain continues Sunday on OWN.

> Shania Twain: 'I was a wimp over affair'