Summary
Objective
We evaluated voice acoustics and self-perceptual ratings in healthcare workers required
to wear face masks throughout their workday.
Methods
Eighteen subjects (11 cisgender female, 7 cisgender male; M = 33.72 years, SD = 8.30)
completed self-perceptual ratings and acoustic recordings before and after a typical
workday. Chosen measures were specific to vocal effort, dysphonia, and laryngeal tension.
Mixed effects models were calculated to determine the impact of session, mask type,
sex, and their interactions on the set of perceptual and acoustic measures.
Results
The subjects self-reported a significant increase in vocal effort following the workday.
These perceptual changes coincided with an increase in vocal intensity and harmonics-to-noise
ratio, but decrease in relative fundamental frequency offset 10. As expected, men
and women differed in measures related to fundamental frequency and vocal tract length.
Conclusion
Healthcare professionals wearing masks reported greater vocal symptoms post-workday
compared to pre-workday. These symptoms coincided with acoustic changes previously
related to vocal effort; however, the degree of change was considered mild. Further
research is needed to determine whether vocal hygiene strategies may reduce vocal
symptoms in mask-wearing workers.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 08, 2021
Accepted:
April 27,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Conflict of interest: None
Presentations: Portions of this paper were presented at the Boston Speech Motor Control Symposium, June 2021.
Funding: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the NIH, #2UL1TR001425-05A1
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
