Influence of a Surgical Mask on Voice Analysis in Dysphonic Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

COVID-19 has radically changed medical practice. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of surgical mask (SM) on voice quality analyzes in a group of patient with different common benign vocal organic pathologies. A cross-over study. A group of 20 patients with different organic benign vocal pathologies was recruited from the ENT consultation of the University Hospital of Charleroi in Belgium. On the day of the assessment, each subject underwent an endonasal laryngeal videostroboscopy followed by a voice analysis (VA) with and without a new SM. The following parameters were analyzed: fundamental frequency, maximum frequency, range in amplitude and frequency of the voice, jitter and maximum phonatory time. In this research, we showed that VA can be performed with an SM while not changing the measured vocal parameters. These results also suggest that for the same individual a VA performed before the pandemic without SM could be compared to one with a SM to follow the patient's evolution of his or her voice quality. The wearing of an SM during VA should always be recommended in case of immunodeficiency, a contagious disease of the patient or during a (new) pandemic.