Vocal Health and Gender: differences in relation to health general, vocal habits and symptoms

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies focus on vocal use and knowledge about voice care in various occupations. However, only a few of these are epidemiological studies performed on the general population. Purpose: to describe aspects of general health, habits and symptoms related to the voice, and to compare these aspects according to gender. Methods: 300 subjects (150 men/150 women) who were signed up for a telemarketer formation course answered a questionnaire with questions referent to the aspects being studied. The data was analyzed (Mann-Whitney test, significance level £5%) to compare differences regarding both sexes. Results: Among health issues that interfere in voice, 53(17,6%) of the subjects reported always having one, and respiratory allergy (46-15,4%) was the most mentioned. Only 26 participants refered presence of vocal symptoms (8,6%); where dry throat was the most common. More than half (157- 52,3%) report having deleterious vocal habits, and talking excessively was the most commonly reported. When the variable sex was analyzed, there was a statistically significant difference regarding the symptom of vocal strain and speaking too loudly for the masculine sex; and regarding symptoms of tiredness when speaking, sore throat and voice loss when nervous, to the habits of speaking excessively, very fast and yelling, and to the presence of respiratory allergies for the feminine sex. The data reinforce the usage of vocal behaviors that socially characterize each gender and indicate the need that speech therapists consider the specificities related to each gender when holding vocal health promotion actions.