Fatigue and Vocal Symptoms in University Professors

Abstract

Introduction: The voice is essential for teachers to practice their profession although many teachers do not know the phonation physiology and how to take care of their voices. In addition to changes in vocal quality, teachers may present vocal symptoms with relevant implications in the teaching-learning process. Objective: To verify fatigue and vocal symptoms in university professors and correlate the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) with the Vocal Symptom Scale (VoiSS). Methods: (VFI) and (VoiSS) protocols were applied in 126 university professors, 71 women and 55 men, aged 30 to 50 years, teaching at a Brazilian Federal University. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman’s Correlation, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean score of the “fatigue and vocal restriction” domain was 13.7 and 4.05 for the item “physical discomfort associated with voice”. Without conversion, the mean value for the domain “recovery with vocal rest” was 7.93, but with conversion, the mean score was 4.06. Tiredness on speaking, burning in the throat and hoarseness were the most frequent symptoms in the participants; It was observed that higher is the vocal symptoms, higher is the vocal fatigue (r = 0.727, p = <0.001) Conclusion: Professors presented VFI mean scores of factors 1 and 2 higher than scores presented by vocally healthy individuals, and the score of the factor 3 was very similar of the score presented by individuals with dysphonia. Hoarseness was the prevalent symptom in all teachers. There was a strong positive correlation between the protocols