Prevalence of self-reported voice problems in the general population in South Australia

Abstract

This study determined the prevalence of self-reported voice problems in the general population. By including questions in the The Health Omnibus Survey, conducted in conjunction with the South Australian Health Commission, data were collected from a random sample of 2210 adults living in South Australia and aged between 21 and 64 years. For the purpose of this study, a voice problem was defined as any difficulty that prevented the respondent from doing all they wanted to with their voice. This provided a definition which used the respondent as the “norm” against which to make judgements, thereby avoiding possible ambiguity with interpretation of arbitrary descriptions of what constitutes a normal voice, while still allowing each individual to have different expectations of their own voice. Prevalence was determined over three time periods: adult life, this year and on the day of the survey. The prevalence of self-reported voice problems during adult life was 6.8%; year prevalence was 4.0%; and point preva...