Prevalence of vocal symptoms among teachers compared with nurses: A questionnaire study

Abstract

In clinical practice teachers seek treatment for vocal symptoms more often than do nurses. High vocal demands in schoolwork due to the acoustic environment may lead to more frequent vocal symptoms among teachers than in a control group. Teachers were inquired about the vocal symptoms which were compared to the vocal symptoms of nurses. The teachers complained about vocal symptoms more often than the nurses, and they also suffered from the symptoms for a longer time than did the nurses. No positive correlation was found between age, length of teaching career, smoking or personality of the teachers and the frequency of symptoms.

Key Words:

• vocal symptom
• teacher