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Dysphonia in teachers: is it only a matter of voice misuse?

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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.

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Correspondence to Asmaa Ahmed Abdel Hamid MD.

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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

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