No abstract

Voice education programs may help in optimizing teachers' voice use. This study compared effects of voice training (VT) and voice hygiene lecture (VHL) in 60 randomly assigned female teachers. All 60 attended the lecture, and 30 completed a short training course in addition. Text reading was recorded in working environments and analyzed for fundamental frequency (F0), equivalent sound level (Leq), alpha ratio, jitter, shimmer, and perceptual quality. Self-reports of vocal well-being were registered. In the VHL group, increased F0 and difficulty of phonation and in the VT group decreased perturbation, increased alpha ratio, easier phonation, and improved perceptual and self-reported voice quality were found. Both groups equally self-reported increase of voice care knowledge. Results seem to indicate improved vocal well-being after training.

Self-evaluations of voice, working conditions, and results of phoniatric examination were studied in 78 female primary school teachers. Most teachers evaluated their vocal capabilities as 'normal'; nevertheless 1/3 reported two or more weekly symptoms. Unsatisfactory air quality, background noise, and stressful working conditions were seen as the most harmful environmental factors. A total of 14% of the subjects had organic laryngeal changes, 37% had mild changes, and 49% were found to be healthy. These findings did not correlate with self-evaluation of voice, vocal symptoms, or voice-related quality of life. Teaching experience or teaching hours per week did not correlate with laryngeal findings or symptoms. The results illustrate the complex nature of voice assessment and the need of assessment tools specially suited for functionally healthy voice professionals.

This study compared the effects of Voice Massage™ (VM) and a voice hygiene lecture (VHL) on 60 female teachers. VM is a Finnish massage method which treats muscles related to voice production. All subjects attended the VHL (3 h). Half of them were randomly assigned to the VM group, the other half received only VHL. VM was given 5 times in 1-hour sessions at intervals of 1–2 weeks. At the beginning and end of the autumn school term, before and after a working day, (1) a 1-min reading sample was recorded at both the subject’s habitual loudness and loudly, (2) a prolonged phonation on [a:] was recorded at habitual speaking pitch and (3) a questionnaire on voice quality, ease or difficulty of phonation, and tiredness of the throat was completed. The reading samples were analysed for the fundamental frequency (F₀), equivalent sound level (Leq) and α-ratio [Leq (1–5 kHz) – Leq (50–1,000 Hz)]. The vowel samples were analysed for the F₀ and Leq, as well as for jitter and shimmer. The reading samples were also evaluated perceptually by 3 speech trainers. The mean F₀ and difficulty of phonation increased from the beginning to the end of the term in the VHL group (p = 0.026, p = 0.007, respectively). In the VM group, the perceived firmness of loud reading decreased (p = 0.026). The results suggest that VM may help in sustaining vocal well-being during a school term.

This study collected data on self-reported symptoms of vocal fatigue among Finnish female primary school teachers (n = 90) before and 6 months and 12 months after three types of interventions that aimed at improving vocal well-being at work. All subjects were given a voice hygiene lecture (3 hours), and, additionally, a randomly chosen group of 30 subjects was given voice massage treatment and another group voice training (5 x 1 hour sessions) over 2 months. The subjects answered a questionnaire over the Internet concerning symptoms of vocal fatigue. The sum score of symptoms decreased significantly in all three groups through the period of investigation. All three interventions improved the teachers' vocal well-being over the long term.

Background: The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) is a multiparametric tool for objectively measuring the general acoustic characteristics of voice. The AVQI uses both sustained vowel and continuous speech in its analysis, and therefore, validation is required for different languages. In the present study, validation was performed in the Finnish-speaking population. Methods: The study included 200 native Finnishspeaking participants of whom 115 were voice patients attending a phoniatric clinic, and the remaining 85 subjects participated in the study as healthy controls. Voice samples were recorded, and the auditory evaluation was performed by five speech therapists. An ordinal four point interval scale was used to evaluate the degree of voice abnormality (Grade, G). Several statistical analyses were performed to test the validity and the diagnostic accuracy of the AVQI in the Finnish-speaking population. Results: The inter-rater reliability of four of the five raters was high enough to allow the use of Gmean in the validation. There was a statistically significant correlation between the AVQI scores and the evaluation of overall perceptual voice quality (r=0.74). Conclusions: The results confirmed the good discriminatory power of the AVQI in differentiating between normal and abnormal voice qualities. The AVQI 02.02 threshold value for dysphonia was 2.87 in the Finnish-speaking population.

This study tested two possible methods for reducing vocal load e.g. during classroom speech. Six female subjects read aloud from a text (1) under normal circumstances, (2) while hearing their own voice amplified (through headphones) and (3) with auditory feedback damped by foam plastic earplugs inserted in the outer ear canal. Fundamental frequency (F0) and sound pressure level (SPL) decreased during both amplified and damped feedback. Additionally, during amplification the relative level of F0 compared to that of the first formant diminished, likewise the alpha ratio. These changes may indicate reduced vocal fold adduction. The results suggest that both amplification and damping of auditory feedback may reduce vocal load during phonation.

This study addressed two self-evaluation questionnaires in investigating the effects of voice hygiene lecture (VHL, 3 h) and additional voice training (VT) or Voice Massage™ (VM; both 5 h) in 90 female teachers. The subjects assessed their voice quality, ease of phonation and tiredness of throat before and after a working day at the beginning and end of the school term using a visual analogue scale (VAS) (Questionnaire 1). At the end of the term, the degree of positive influence of the interventions was reported on VAS, and the type of influence was indicated by choosing one or more of three alternatives (voice quality, audibility and endurance) or by writing a free comment (Questionnaire 2). Questionnaire 1 was pretested and found to be reliable and valid for self-evaluation of voice. At the end of term, the VM and VT groups reported more positive influence of the interventions than did the VHL group. The reported influence did not correlate with working-day-related changes in sensations. Increased difficulty of phonation and tiredness of throat was found in the VHL group at the end of the term. However, the groups did not differ significantly from each other. The challenges of self-evaluations as outcome measures are discussed.