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Comparison of vocal fatigue and vocal tract discomfort between teachers of normal pupils and teachers of mentally disabled pupils

  • Laryngology
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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to study the comparison of vocal fatigue and vocal tract discomfort between teachers of normal pupils and teachers of mentally disabled pupils.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study

Methods

Participants were 179 teachers (50 male, 129 female) and 30 non-teachers (14 male, 16 female) who participated in the current study. The teachers work in elementary schools. Furthermore, 87 of the teachers work for mentally disabled pupils at special elementary schools. Non-teachers were Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences employees who consider as the control group. They completed the Persian VFI and VTDp questionnaires three times, at the beginning, middle, and end of their office hours for 1 workday.

Results

The current study’s findings indicate that the Persian VFI and VTD scores of non-teachers were significantly lower than teachers' scores. Furthermore, teachers of mentally disabled pupils demonstrated higher values from teachers of normal pupils based on the Persian VFI and VTDp scores

Conclusion

The study results showed that teachers experienced more vocal fatigue and vocal tract discomfort than non-teachers. Furthermore, teachers of mentally disabled pupils indicated more vocal fatigue, the larynx’s physical discomfort, and vocal tract discomfort, but this difference was practically small.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Hassan Khoramshahi & Shayan Ahmadi

  2. Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran

    Ali Dehqan

  3. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

    Ronald Callaway Scherer

  4. MSc Student of Speech Therapy, Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Zahra Sharifi

Authors
  1. Hassan Khoramshahi
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  2. Ali Dehqan
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  3. Ronald Callaway Scherer
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  4. Zahra Sharifi
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  5. Shayan Ahmadi
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Correspondence to Hassan Khoramshahi.

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Appendices

Appendices

Appendix 1 Tiredness of voice and teachers of different schools

figure a

Appendix 2 Physical Discomfort and teachers of different schools

figure b

Appendix 3 Improvement with Rest and teachers of different schools

figure c

Appendix 4 Frequency subscale of VTD and teachers of different schools

figure d

Appendix 5 Severity subscale of VTD and teachers of different schools

figure e

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Khoramshahi, H., Dehqan, A., Scherer, R.C. et al. Comparison of vocal fatigue and vocal tract discomfort between teachers of normal pupils and teachers of mentally disabled pupils. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 278, 2429–2436 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06863-w

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