Effectiveness of a Short Voice Training Program for Teachers: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: Journal of voice Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 697 - 706
• Main Authors: López, Juana Muñoz, Catena, Andrés, Montes, Alicia, Castillo, Maria Elena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Acoustic measurements; Acoustics; Adult; Aerodynamic measures; Disability Evaluation; Female; GRBAS; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases - diagnosis; Occupational Diseases - etiology; Occupational Diseases - physiopathology; Occupational Diseases - prevention & control; Occupational Health; Otolaryngology; Preliminary Data; Program Evaluation; School Teachers; Speech Acoustics; Speech Production Measurement; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Voice Disorders - diagnosis; Voice Disorders - etiology; Voice Disorders - physiopathology; Voice Disorders - prevention & control; Voice Handicap Index; Voice Quality; Voice Training; Acoustic measurements; Aerodynamic measures; Voice Handicap Index; GRBAS; Voice training
• ISSN: 0892-1997; 1873-4588
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2017.01.017

Summary Background Using their voices in inappropriate working conditions causes teachers to misuse their voices, because in order to be heard they need to force their voices. Objective This preliminary study examines the effects of a short-term voice training program aimed at teachers. Methods The pre- and posttraining evaluations consisted of acoustic, perceptual (GRBAS [grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain]), aerodynamic, and subjective measurements (VHI-10). Results The results indicate that the voice performance of teachers improves after 25 hours of training. Specifically, significant changes are observed at the acoustic level, in fundamental frequency (F0) and in frequency perturbation measures (Jitter, PPQ [pitch perturbation quotient]), as well as in subjective voice assessment using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), in both the physical subscale (VHI-P) and the total score (VHI-T). Conclusions This study confirms the effectiveness of the training program and discusses the most sensitive measures for evaluating the short-term effect of the change.