Evaluating the effect of masks on the vocal health and speech intelligibility of healthcare workers in various hospital unit

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has enforced mandatory mask usage, particularly in hospitals, and its impact on the vocal problems and speech intelligibility of healthcare workers was examined in this study. A total of 76 healthcare workers from various units, including emergency, inpatient, outpatient, and intensive care, participated in an online questionnaire survey to assess vocal issues experienced while wearing masks. The participants' self-assessed vocal handicaps were quantified using the Vocal Handicap Index (VHI) score. The findings revealed that healthcare workers in emergency units faced the most severe vocal problems, followed by those in outpatient units. The most reported vocal symptoms were clearing the throat and throat dryness. Additionally, noise levels were measured continuously for four hours in each unit, and sources of noise were identified. The measured sound pressure levels (SPL) in emergency, inpatient, outpatient, and intensive care units were 68.64, 63, and 72 dBA, respectively. These values exceeded the World Health Organization's recommended limit of 30-40 dBA, indicating significant discomfort. Lastly, to delve deeper into the increased vocal effort required when wearing masks, the Speech Transmission Index (STI) parameter was analyzed using the recorded SPL as background noise and audio recordings of healthcare workers in different mask-wearing conditions. The study discovered that using a mask considerably reduced speech intelligibility compared to not wearing a mask. Keyword: healthcare workers, vocal problems, noise level, pandemic