Evaluation of compliance of the principles of voice hygiene and emission among teachers

Abstract

Introduction: Teachers constitute an occupational group where voice disorders associated with vocation are most often observed. Incorrect voice emission and neglect of voice hygiene are mentioned among the causes of those disorders. Aim: Assessment of compliance with voice hygiene and emission among teachers and determination of differences between preschool and primary school teachers; identifying relationships between provided answers and age, years of service and weekly work hours as well as determining which principles of voice hygiene and emission are complied with the most and which are least followed. Material and methods: Study included 90 preschool and primary school teachers, 68 women and 22 men with mean age of 39.5 ± 10.9 (range: 23-59 years). In the study we used a questionnaire created specifically for this purpose and a survey, where respondents reported their age, workplace, years of service and number of hours when they used their voice. Results: Teachers provided answers consistent with the principles of voice hygiene and emission in about half of questions on average. There was a relationship between workplace, age and the degree of compliance with the rules of voice hygiene and emission. To the smallest extent teachers followed the rules related to physical activity, water consumption as well as voice emission during infection and in noise. Conclusions: Studies corroborated the need for training teachers regarding voice hygiene and emission.