- Original article
- Open access
- Published:
Dysphonia in teachers: is it only a matter of voice misuse?
The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology volume 30, pages 272–278 (2014)
En
Abstract
Background
Teaching is considered among the most demanding tasks for voice
Aim
This study investigated dysphonia in a sample of Egyptian teachers and determined the prevalence of dysphonia in the sample under study.
Patients and methods
The study was carried out by applying a questionnaire to 250 primary school teachers in Fayed city. The questionnaire included three main groups of questions that indicate the presence or absence of dysphonia, gastric reflux, and allergy, in addition to questions about personal and teaching data. The participants who reported that they suffer from dysphonia were transmitted to the second step of the study, which is acoustic analysis for their voices and laryngoscopic examination for their larynges.
Results
The present study revealed that the prevalence of dysphonia in the study sample is 23.2%. The dysphonia was based on the participants self-impression and was emphasized by the acoustic analysis; in addition, this study showed a significant correlation between dysphonia and both allergy and reflux.
Conclusion
The study revealed that prevalence of dysphonia in the sample under study which contains primary school teachers is 23.2%. A positive correlation between teaching hours/week, allergy and reflux with dysphonia with presence of pathological lesions and subclinical finding detected by acoustic analysis changes.
References
Dietrich M, Verdolini Abbot K. In: Izdebski K, editor. Psychobiological framework of stress and voice: a psychobiological framework for studying psychological stress and its relation to voice disorders. Emotions in the human voice. Vol.2: clinical evidence. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing; 2008. 159–178.
Vilkman E. Occupational safety and health aspects of voice and speech professions. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2004; 56: 220–253.
Roy N, Merrill RM, Thibeault S, Parsa RA, Gray SD, Smith EM. Prevalence of voice disorders in teachers and the general population. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2004; 47: 281–293.
Kooijman PG, de Jong FI, Thomas G, Huinck W, Donders R, Graamans K, Schutte HK. Risk factors for voice problems in teachers. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2006; 58: 159–174.
Deary IJ, Wilson JA, Carding PN, Mackenzie K. The dysphonic voice heard by me, you and it: differential associations with personality and psychological distress. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 2003; 28: 374–378.
King HC, Mabry RL, Mabry CS, Gordon BR, Marple BF. Allergy in ENT practice: the basic guide. 2nd ed. New York: Thieme; 2004.
Stemple CJ, Glaze LE, Klaben BG. Clinical voice pathology. Theory and management. 3rd ed. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group; 2000.
Issing WJ, Gross M, Tauber S. Manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux in the otorhinolaryngology tract. Laryngorhinootologie 2001; 80: 464–469.
Bousquet J, Khaltaer N, Cruz AA, Denburg J, Fokkens WJ, Togias A. Allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma 2008 update. Allergy 2008; 63: 8–160.
Belafsky PC, Postma GN, Koufman JA. Validity and reliability of the reflux symptom index (RSI). J Voice 2002; 16: 274–277.
Kotby MN. The Smith accent method of voice therapy. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group Inc.; 1995. 1–24.
Maryn Y, Corthals P, De Bodt M, Van Cauwenberge P, Deliyski D. Perturbation measures of voice: a comparative study between Multi-Dimensional Voice Program and Praat. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2009; 61: 217–226.
Ahlander VL, Rydell R, Leofqvist A. Speaker’s comfort in teaching environments: voice problems in Swedish teaching staff. J Voice 2011; 25: 430–440.
Sala E, Airo E, Olkinuora P, Simberg S, Strom U, Laine A. Vocal loading among day care center teachers. Logoped Phoniatr Vocol 2002; 27: 21–28.
Titze IR, Lemke J, Montequin D. Populations in the U.S. workforce who rely on voice as a primary tool of trade: a preliminary report. J Voice 1997; 11: 254–259.
Thibeault SL, Merrill RM, Roy N, Gray SD, Smith EM. Occupational risk factors associated with voce disorders among teachers. Ann Epidemiol 2004; 14: 786–792.
De Jong F, Cornelis B, Wyuts F, Kooijman P, Schutte H, Oudes M, Graamard K. A psychological cascade model for persisting voice problems in teachers. Folia Phoniatr Logop 2003; 55: 91–101.
Welham NV, Maclagan MA. Vocal fatigue: current knowledge and future directions. J Voice 2003; 17: 21–30.
Pedersen M, Beranova A, Møller S. Dysphonia: medical treatment and a medical voice hygiene advice approach. A prospective randomised pilot study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2004; 261: 312–315.
Hess MM, Verdolini K, Bierhals W, Mansmann U, Gross M. Endolaryngeal contact pressures. J Voice 1998; 12: 50–67.
Tavares ELM, Martins RHG. Vocal evaluation in teachers with or without symptoms. J Voice 2007; 21: 407–414.
Smith E, Gray SD, Dove H, Kirchner L, Heras H. Frequency and effects of teachers’ voice problems. J Voice 1997; 11: 81–87.
Mattiske JA, Oates JM, Greenwood KM. Vocal problems among teachers: a review of prevalence, causes, prevention, and treatment. J Voice 1998; 12: 489–499.
Simberg S, Laine A, Sala E, Rönnemaa AM. Prevalence of voice disorders among future teachers. J Voice 2000; 14: 231–235.
Russel A, Oates J, Greenwood KM. Prevalence of voice problems in teachers. J Voice 1998; 12: 467–479.
Laukkanen AM, Ilomaki I, Leppanen K, Vilkman E. Acoustic measures and self-reports of vocal fatigue by female teachers. J Voice 2008; 22: 283–289.
Nerriere E, Vercambre MN, Gilbert F, Kovess-Masfety V. Voice disorders and mental health in teachers: a cross-sectional nationwide study. BMC Public Health 2009; 9: 370.
Spiegel JR, Sataloff RT, Emerich KA. The young adult voice. J Voice 1997; 11: 138–143.
Simberg S, Sala E, Vehmas K, Laine A. Changes in the prevalence of vocal symptoms among teachers during a twelve-year period. J Voice 2005; 19: 95–102.
Hanson D, Jiang JJ. Diagnosis and management of chronic laryngitis associated with reflux. Am J Med 2000; 108: 112S–119S.
Koufman JA. The otolaryngologic manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): a clinical investigation of 225 patients using ambulatory 24-h pH monitoring and an experimental investigation of the role of acid and pepsin in the development of laryngeal injury. Laryngoscope 1991; 101: 1–78.
Ross JA, Noordzij JP, Woo P. Voice disorders in patients with suspected laryngo-pharyngeal reflux disease. J Voice 1998; 12: 84–88.
Pribuisiene R, Uloza V, Kupcinskas L, Jonaitis L. Perceptual and acoustic characteristics of voice changes in reflux laryngitis patients. J Voice 2006; 20: 128–136.
Reulbach TR, Belafsky PC, Blalock PE. Occult laryngeal pathology in a community-based cohort. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2001; 124: 448–450.
Hicks DM, Ours TM, Abelson TI. The prevalence of hypopharyngeal findings associated with gastroesophageal reflux in normal volunteers. J Voice 2002; 16: 564–579.
Karkos PD, Wilson JA. Empiric treatment of laryngopharyngeal reflux with proton pump inhibitors: a systematic review. Laryngoscope 2006; 116: 144–148.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Conflicts of interest
None declared.
Rights and permissions
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Hamid, A.A.A., Eldessouky, H.M., Iskender, N.M. et al. Dysphonia in teachers: is it only a matter of voice misuse?. Egypt J Otolaryngol 30, 272–278 (2014). https://doi.org/10.4103/1012-5574.138494
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1012-5574.138494