The effect of wearing face masks on voice and intelligibility of speech during the COVID-19 pandemic

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BackgroundThe study aims at evaluating the effect of wearing face masks on voice and intelligibility of speech in Egyptian working individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify if there are any adverse effects of wearing face masks in the working environment.Materials and methodsA cross-section analytical study was conducted on 153 participants. Personal data and data about the nature of their workplaces were collected. The evaluation included a subjective assessment of voice and intelligibility of speech using a specifically designed questionnaire addressing self-perception of voice fatigue, speech unintelligibility, received auditory feedback and breathing difficulty, and objective voice assessment by Computerized Speech Lab, while objective speech unintelligibility assessment by the Arabic Speech Intelligibility Test.ResultsThe study revealed poor workplace acoustics and increased their self-perception of voice fatigue, speech unintelligibility, auditory feedback, and breathing difficulty while wearing masks. Medical professionals showed increased self-perception of speech unintelligibility and the received auditory feedback. No significant difference was found in absolute jitter with and without a face mask. Increasing shimmer and mean fundamental frequency and decreasing noise to harmonic ratio and maximum phonation time were found. The study revealed decreased speech intelligibility especially with the N95 mask.ConclusionWearing face masks negatively affects communication in the workplace, with poor room acoustics. It affects both speech intelligibility and voice subjectively and objectively. It caused increased self-perception of voice fatigue and changes in objective voice parameters.