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Risk Factors for the Incidence of Perceived Voice Disorders in Elementary and Middle School Teachers

The Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI): Validation and Adaptation Into Persian

This study aims to analyze the relationship between occupation and voice disorders using a national cross-sectional survey that represents the Korean population. Subjects were 5,407 members of the non-institutionalized population aged 19–59 (2,258 men, 3,149 women) who completed the laryngeal examination of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2012. Voice disorders were surveyed by classifying laryngeal pathologies and self-reported voice problems. Occupations were classified into ‘managers & professionals’, ‘clerical support workers’, ‘service & sales workers’, ‘skilled agricultural & forestry & fishery workers’, ‘craft & plant and machine operators and assemblers’, and ‘unskilled laborers’, based on the sixth Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. The results of the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that managers & professionals were 1.4 times (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.01–2.01) more likely to have self-reported voice problems, and service & sales workers were 1.6 times (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.14–2.30) more likely to have self-reported voice problems than economically inactive people (P < 0.05). Still, there was no significant association between the presence of laryngeal pathology and profession. Managers & professionals and service & sales workers may have a higher risk of voice problems than the economically inactive.

The objective of this research was to identify the prevalence of voice disorders among teachers in the Kathmandu District of Nepal, with an emphasis on identifying possible risk factors that may be associated with these disorders. A cross-sectional study design was used, with both quantitative and qualitative data-gathering techniques using a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected from 95 non-teachers and 194 participating teachers from different schools in Kathmandu Valley. The analysis covered self-reported voice problem prevalence, job details, and demographic data. We examined the relationships between several variables and voice issues, including gender, class size, length of instruction, and tobacco usage. Findings: Compared with nonteachers (33.7%), teachers had a considerably greater prevalence of voice issues (69.1%). Greater class size and more than ten years of teaching experience were shown to be risk factors, while female instructors reported a greater prevalence of voice issues. Additionally, it was shown that instructors' voice issues are also linked to tobacco usage. The results of this study highlight how critical it is to provide voice therapy to educators employed in the Kathmandu District, particularly those in at-risk categories such as female instructors, more experienced educators, and educators with larger class sizes. The outcomes demonstrated important impacts on teacher well-being, job satisfaction, and academic achievement. More research and intervention strategies are needed to minimize the effects of voice problems and promote a positive teaching andlearning environment.

Relationship between Voice Complaints and Subjective and Objective Measures of Vocal Function in Iranian Female Teachers

PurposeMany aging individuals, even those who are healthy, report voice changes that can impact their ability to communicate as they once did. While this is commonly reported, most do not seek evaluation or management for this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences in voice disorders in older adults, along with the effect of fatigue on their social interactions.MethodThis is a cross-sectional investigation of a community-dwelling sample of individuals aged 60 years or older. Participants completed the Questionnaire on Vocal Performance, the Social Engagement Index subset “Engagement in Social or Leisure Activities,” and the Fatigue Severity Scale.ResultsResults indicated 32.5% of the 332 participants reported symptoms of voice problems with no difference found between male and female respondents. A slight increase in report of voice problems was noted with each year of age. Participants who self-reported voice problems indicated less interaction in social activities involving communication than those who did not. Finally, as severity of self-reported voice problems increased, an increase was reported by the same individuals for signs of fatigue.ConclusionsVoice problems and resulting decreased social interaction are commonly experienced by older individuals. Voice symptoms in older adults have been found to benefit from evidence-based treatment strategies. It is critical to provide education to encourage older individuals to seek appropriate evaluation and management for voice issues through a speech-language pathologist or medical professional.

This investigation examined the prevalence, symptoms, risk factors, and quality-of-life burden of swallowing disorders in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic, progressive autoimmune inflammatory disease. One hundred individuals with RA (84 women, 16 men; mean age = 61.1 years, SD = 13.1) were interviewed regarding the presence, nature, and impact of swallowing symptoms and disorders. Associations between swallowing disorders, medical factors, RA disease severity, and quality of life were examined. Forty-one percent of participants reported a current swallowing disorder that began gradually and was longstanding (most experiencing symptoms on a daily basis for at least 4 years). Symptoms compatible with solid food dysphagia contributed disproportionately to reporting a current swallowing disorder. Risk factors for dysphagia included a self-reported voice disorder, thyroid problems, esophageal reflux, and being physically inactive. Swallowing disorders increased with self-reported RA disease severity and contributed to a significantly greater burden on overall quality of life. Chronic, longstanding swallowing disorders are common in individuals with RA and appear to increase with disease severity. Those individuals with dysphagia reported greater reductions in quality of life as compared to those without, highlighting the need for improved awareness, exploration, and management of swallowing disorders in this population.

Behavioral voice therapy is the most common treatment for hyperfunctional voice disorders (HVDs) but has limited long-term effectiveness since the comprehensive mechanisms underlying HVDs remain unclear. Recent work has implicated disordered sensorimotor integration during speech in some speakers with HVDs and suggests that auditory processing is a key factor to consider in HVD assessment and therapy. The purpose of this case-series study was to assess whether current voice therapy approaches for HVDs resulted in improvements to auditory-motor function. Longitudinal (pre-post) study. Pre and postvoice therapy for HVDs, 11 speakers underwent an assessment of auditory-motor function via auditory discrimination of vocal pitch, responses to unanticipated auditory perturbations, and responses to predictable auditory perturbations of vocal pitch. At the post-therapy session, 10 out of 11 participants demonstrated voice therapy success (via self-reported voice problems and/or auditory-perceptual judgements of voice by a clinician) and eight of the 11 participants demonstrated improvements in at least one measure of auditory discrimination and/or auditory-motor control. Specifically, three speakers demonstrated improvements in auditory discrimination, five speakers demonstrated improved (within typical cutoffs) responses to predictable perturbations, and two speakers demonstrated improvements in both auditory discrimination and auditory-motor measures. Together, these findings support that voice therapy in individuals with HVDs may impact auditory-motor control and highlight the potential benefit of systematically addressing auditory function in voice therapy and assessment for HVDs.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of voice disorders and the Korean voice handicap index in the elderly. For this study, 169 elderly performed two types of questionnaires and vowel /a/ prolongation. Self-reported voice symptoms and the Korean voice handicap index were analyzed and acoustic voice evaluation was performed by MDVP. The results showed that the prevalence of voice disorders in the elderly are significantly higher than that of adults in self-reports. In acoustic evaluation, 32.2% of the male elderly and 40.9% of the female elderly exceeded the thresholds of Jitter (%), Shimmer (%) and NHR. In addition, Korean voice handicap index scores of the female elderly are significantly higher than those of female adults. These findings indicate the high frequency of voice disorders in the elderly and the need to focus on this group. Additional studies on the voice related quality of life for the elderly are needed.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of voice therapy in improving outcomes for voice disorders. Additionally, it has been shown that there are significant barriers to accessing and attending voice therapy, especially in language-diverse populations and among those with public insurance. However, there is limited research identifying obstacles to completion of voice therapy among a socioeconomically diverse population. In the present study, we aim to assess the barriers to successful completion of voice therapy. We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients in the Bronx, New York. We aimed to identify demographic characteristics (age, race, and insurance status), number of canceled/missed appointments, successful completion of voice therapy, and noted barriers to completion of treatment as patients underwent voice therapy. We conducted a chart review with a sample size of 54 patients. The mean age was 54 years (age distribution 7–86 years), and 76% of the patients were female. The most common primary diagnosis was dysphonia (90%). The most common comorbidities among patients were gastroesophageal reflux disease (41%), allergic rhinitis (41%), hypertension (40%), and asthma (20%). Among the sample, 22% of the patients indicated their primary language as Spanish. Most of the patients identified (65%) were utilizing public health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid). The average percentage of missed appointments to total appointments was 30%. The therapy completion rate among the sample was 60%. There was a significant positive relationship between therapy completion and self-reported voice improvement. Overall, the most common barriers to therapy completion were nonadherence to home exercises and telehealth issues. Other common barriers include additional health issues, work commitments, family commitments, and fatigue/pain with exercises. There were also patients who identified that they did not encounter barriers to voice therapy completion (28%). We aim to utilize these results to guide further research and address issues associated with successful voice therapy completion.