Vocal fatigue in doctors: evaluation with subjective and objective acoustic parameters

Abstract

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the voice problems with vocal loading in physicians.

Method

It was planned to have two groups and thirty participants in each group. The participants were surgeon and nonsurgeon, male and female doctors (first group: 15 female +15 male nonsurgeon; second group: 15 female +15 male surgeon). Volunteers were also separated according to the duration of career, patients seen daily and polyclinic days weekly. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores and voice fatigue index (VFI) version 2 were applied. Objective measurements (F0, jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio) of acoustic evaluation according to the same variables were recorded.

Results

There was a statistically significant difference in the number of patients seen daily between the groups (<50 patients/day and >50 patients/day) in terms of VFI parts 1 and 2 averages. There was a statistically significant difference between branches (surgical vs. nonsurgical) in terms of VFI part 1 (p = .034). The tiredness of voice was prominent in the physicians who saw more patients and who had more workdays weekly and who were nonsurgeon (VFI part 1). Physical discomfort was more prominent in physicians whose duration of career was long and whose daily patients were more (VFI part 2) (p < .05).The number of patients seen daily and number of days to work did not affect objective acoustic parameters. Being experienced as year in women and being surgeon decreased the mean shimmer values in objective measurements (p < .05).

Conclusion

Physicians experienced vocal fatigue (VF) in varying degrees according to the differences in working conditions.

Keywords:

• Acoustic analysis
• vocal loading
• doctors
• voice fatigue index

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Asena Ayça Özdemir for her valuable help in the statistical analyses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sanem Okşan Erkan

Sanem Okşan Erkan is an otorhinolaryngology specialist in the Adana City Education and Research Hospital . Her researches currently focuses on voice disorders, head and neck malignities.

Birgul Tuhanioglu

Birgul Tuhaniogluis an otorhinolaryngology specialist in the Adana City Education and Research Hospital . Her researches currently focuses on voice disorders and rhinology.