After being bitten by a tick and contracting the illness 2003, the star was left unable to sing - which she feared would put an end to her musical career for good.

"There was a long time I thought I would never sing again," Shania told U.K. TV show Loose Women.

"It took years to get to the bottom of what was affecting my voice, and I would say probably a good seven years before a doctor was able to find out that it was nerve damage to my vocal cords directly caused by Lyme disease," she explained.

Once she discovered the source of the ailment, The Life's About To Get Good star underwent throat surgery to strengthen her vocal cords. She has since made a triumphant comeback, releasing her fifth album Now in 2017, headlining a tour the following year, and launching her Let's Go! Las Vegas residency last December.

While Shania is now confident onstage, she admitted she was still struggling to talk normally - something that may take a while, if ever, to completely recover.

"My speaking voice is definitely the biggest effort, because as you can hear, I get quite raspy," the hitmaker shared.

She added: "I have more power when I'm singing now, I have more character I find, and I enjoy singing again. Speaking is the more difficult challenge for me than singing. I'll take that!"