Function vocal examination and acoustic analisys of 905 teaching staff of La Rioja. Spain

Objective: Examination of the vocal function and acoustic analysis in 905 teachers in La Rioja. Design: A case control study: 576 cases and 329 controls. Patients: 905 teaching staff of La Rioja: 589 female and 316 male. Methods: All teachers filled in a standard questionnaire, ENT and vocal function examination, videolaryngostroboscopy and acoustic analysis with MDVP. Results: The prevalence of voice disorders among teaching staff was 57%. The most prevalent lesions were: vocal overeffors (18%) nodular lesions (14%) and hyperfunctional dysphonia (8%). The prevalence of vocal symtoms was 79%. A pathological vocal function was found more frequent among dysphonic teachers than among normals. Frequency perturbations and amplitude perturbations were bigger among dysphonic teachers than among normals. Poor correlations were found between algorithms of acoustic analisis with MDVP and perceptual evaluation GRBAS. Conclusions: It is advisable to carry out a yearly clinical evaluation of all teaching staff because of the high prevalence of voice disorders among them.