Quantifying the Occupational Voice Use of Teachers

Abstract

Purpose: The teaching profession is a high–voice use occupation at elevated risk for developing voice disorders. Continued research on teachers' vocal demands is necessary to advocate for and establish vocal health programs. This study quantified ambulatory vocal dose measures for teachers during both on- and off-work periods, comparing their occupational voice use to that in other studies that have reported percent phonation ranging from 17% to 30%. Method: Participants included 26 full-time, female school teachers between 23 and 55 years of age across multiple grades and subjects, including individuals with and without a voice disorder. Ambulatory voice data were collected from weeklong voice monitoring that recorded phonatory activity through anterior neck-surface vibration. Three vocal dose measures—time, cycle, and distance doses—were computed for each participant for three time periods: on-work weekdays, off-work weekdays, and off-work weekend days. Results: The teachers' average percent phonation was 16.2% on-work weekdays, 8.4% off-work weekdays, and 8.0% off-work weekend days. No statistically significant differences for vocal dose measures were found between off-work weekdays and weekend days. Overall, all vocal dose measures were approximately 2 times higher during work relative to off-work time periods. Conclusions: This study provides values for vocal dose measures for school teachers using ambulatory voice-monitoring technology. The vocal demands of this particular teacher sample and voice activity detection algorithm are potential factors contributing to percent phonation values on the lower end of the range reported in the literature. Future work is needed to continue to understand occupational voice use and its associated risks related to voice health, with the ultimate goal of preventing and managing voice disorders in individuals engaged in high-risk occupations.