How to Eliminate Mouth Noise in Your Voiceover Recordings

Every voice actor has been there. You nail the perfect take, the read is emotional, the timing is spot-on, and then you hear it during playback: that tiny, sticky click between words. Mouth noise is one of the most frustrating technical problems in voiceover because it often shows up after you think you're done recording.

The good news? Most mouth noise is preventable. And when you address it at the source rather than relying on post-production fixes, your recordings sound noticeably more natural and professional.

What Causes Mouth Noise in Voiceover

Mouth clicks in voice recording come from saliva (or the lack of it) interacting with your tongue, lips, teeth, and palate. When your mouth is too dry, your oral tissues stick together and peel apart as you speak, creating those sharp clicking sounds. When your mouth is too wet, excess saliva creates its own set of gurgly, bubbly noises.

Your microphone makes this worse. Condenser mics, which most voice actors use, are incredibly sensitive. They pick up subtle mouth sounds that you'd never hear in normal conversation. The closer you work to the mic, the more pronounced these sounds become.

Several factors increase mouth noise:

• Dehydration (the most common culprit)
• Caffeine, alcohol, or antihistamines that dry out mucous membranes
• Sugary or dairy-heavy foods before recording
• Mouth breathing between takes
• Stress and nervousness (which reduce saliva production)
• Recording for extended periods without breaks

Hydration Strategy That Actually Works

"Drink more water" is the advice everyone gives, but timing matters more than volume. Chugging a glass of water right before you record won't help much. Your body needs time to hydrate your oral tissues from the inside out.

Here's what I recommend to my coaching clients:

• Start hydrating at least two hours before your session
• Sip room-temperature water consistently rather than drinking large amounts at once
• Keep water nearby during recording and take small sips between takes
• Avoid ice-cold water, which can tighten your throat and actually reduce saliva flow

Green apple is the classic voice actor trick, and it works. A slice of Granny Smith apple before recording stimulates saliva production and helps coat your mouth evenly. The malic acid is what does the work here. Some voice actors swear by Entertainer's Secret throat spray or Biotene products for the same reason.

What to Avoid Before Recording

What you put in your body in the hours before a session directly affects mouth noise. Build a pre-session routine that eliminates the most common triggers:

Two to three hours before recording, cut out:

• Coffee and caffeinated tea (major dehydrators)
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt create thick mucus)
• Sugary drinks or candy (leave a sticky residue in your mouth)
• Salty snacks (pull moisture from your tissues)

The morning of a session:

• Skip the orange juice (acid increases mouth noise for many people)
• Eat something bland and hydrating if you need food
• Brush your teeth at least 30 minutes before recording so the toothpaste residue clears

Some voice actors keep a food diary for a week, noting what they ate before sessions where mouth noise was particularly bad. Patterns emerge quickly, and everyone's triggers are slightly different.

Mic Technique and Room Setup

Your relationship with the microphone plays a significant role in how much mouth noise ends up in your recordings. A few adjustments can make a real difference:

Distance: Working 6-8 inches from a condenser mic gives you a good balance between presence and noise rejection. Getting too close (2-3 inches) amplifies every tiny mouth sound.

Angle: Position the mic slightly off-axis rather than speaking directly into the capsule. A 15-20 degree angle still captures your full voice while reducing the intensity of plosives and mouth clicks.

Pop filter placement: A pop filter 2-3 inches from the mic does double duty. It catches plosives and slightly diffuses the sharp transients of mouth clicks.

Gain staging: If your preamp gain is set too high, you're amplifying mouth noise along with everything else. Set your levels so normal speech peaks around -12 to -6 dB. You can always boost in post, but you can't un-amplify noise that's baked into a hot recording.

Real-Time Fixes During Your Session

Even with perfect preparation, mouth noise can creep in during longer sessions. Here's how to manage it on the fly:

• Pause and reset. If you hear clicks increasing, stop. Take a sip of water, eat a small apple slice, and give your mouth 30 seconds to recover.
• Tongue placement. Between phrases, rest your tongue gently against the roof of your mouth rather than letting it float. This prevents the "unsticking" sound when you start speaking again.
• Controlled breathing. Breathe through your nose between takes. Mouth breathing dries out your oral cavity faster than anything else during a session.
• Jaw stretches. Open your mouth wide, move your jaw side to side, and do a few exaggerated chewing motions. This stimulates saliva glands and loosens tension that contributes to sticky sounds.
• Session length. If you're recording long-form narration, take a real break every 30-45 minutes. Stand up, hydrate, and let your mouth fully recover before continuing.

Post-Production as a Safety Net, Not a Crutch

Software tools like iZotope RX, Accusonus ERA, and even free options like the de-clicker in Audacity can remove mouth clicks after the fact. Heavy de-clicking processing affects the natural quality of your audio, though. It can dull consonants, create artifacts, and make your reads sound slightly processed.

Use these tools for the occasional click that slips through, not as your primary strategy. Clients and casting directors can often tell the difference between a naturally clean recording and one that's been heavily processed. A clean source recording will always sound better than a fixed one.

If you do use de-click software, apply it surgically to specific problem areas rather than across your entire file. This preserves the natural texture of your voice everywhere else.

Build Your Pre-Session Routine

The voice actors who rarely deal with mouth noise aren't lucky. They've built consistent habits around hydration, diet, and mic technique. Start by picking two or three changes from this list and making them non-negotiable for your next ten sessions. Once those become automatic, layer in more.

If mouth noise is a persistent problem despite these adjustments, it might be worth examining your overall recording chain. Mic choice, room treatment, and gain structure all interact with each other. That's the kind of thing we dig into during coaching sessions, where I can listen to your actual recordings and pinpoint exactly where the issue lives.

Clean audio isn't just a technical nicety. It's a competitive advantage. The fewer problems a client hears in your auditions, the more confident they feel booking you.