The Effect of Daily Habits of High School Teachers as Professional Voice Users on Their Speech Sounds

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the effects of the daily habits of high school teachers, who are professional voice users, on their health of speech sounds. It is seen that 68% of 375 teachers in the study do not smoke. 82.9% of them do not drink alcohol. It is seen that only 20% of the participants consume coffee and tea at high rates. The rate of participants who performed actions such as harsh coughing and throat clearing that could damage the vocal cords is 42.9%. The rate of teachers who have pre-sleep eating habits is 43.5%. The rate of teachers who have the habit of speaking aloud in their life outside of school constitutes 21.9% of the participants. Regarding the frequency of speaking on the phone, only 5.6% of the participants stated that they had commonplace and long conversations. It is seen that the daily water drinking habits of teachers are 5-6 glasses a day, with the highest rate (27.7%). Most participants (78.9%) stated that they do not have a cold very often. Reflux, one of the essential diseases affecting voice health, is seen only in 14.4% of the participants. The rate of participants in a stressful work environment is also relatively low (38.7%). Although the teachers use their voices intensely due to their jobs, 80% of those who participated in the research stated that they did not experience dysphonia. Finally, only 22.7% of the participants have vocal cord nodules or polyps. In terms of their daily habits, the participants perform actions that will harm their speech-sound health at a very low level. This situation also positively affects the health of their speech sounds.