Summary
Objectives
For school teachers, the voice is a mandatory occupational tool during teaching. Several
studies, however, proved that teachers are at high risk of developing voice disorders.
The aim of this study was to investigate the voice health, voice self-concept, and
quality of life in German teachers.
Methods
In a cross-sectional study 536 German school teachers had a laryngeal examination,
acoustic voice measurements to determine the Dysphonia Severity Index and filled in
a self-reporting questionnaire with the Voice Handicap Index-12), the voice self-concept
(Fragebogen zur Erfassung des Stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts), and the general quality
of life (SF-12).
Results
A total of 58.3% of the teachers reported that they had experienced a voice problem
at least once in their career. Female teachers had more often experienced voice problems
than male teachers. Twenty-five percent showed a current considerable voice abnormality
of vocal fold oscillation pattern. Such voice abnormalities were observed more in
male teachers than female teachers. The Dysphonia Severity Index also differed between
gender with higher values in the female teachers and a steadily decreasing value over
age. The voice self-concept showed differences between gender and age of the teachers.
Teachers who experienced a voice problem had higher Voice Handicap Index and lower
voice self-concept values compared to those without experienced voice problems. Teachers
with voice abnormalities had lower values in the quality of life scales.
Conclusions
The findings confirm the high risk of voice health problems among German teachers
and illustrate the complexity of vocal health and quality of life issues in teachers
associated with gender, age, and the history of experienced voice problems. This study
strengthens the necessity for vocal training programs to prepare teachers for a professional
and healthy voice use to maintain vocal health.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 04, 2018
Accepted:
November 14,
2018
Footnotes
Funding: The study was funded by the ministry of science and arts and the ministry of culture, youth, and sports in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
