The Influence of Noise on the Vocal Dose in Women

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate if noise interferes with the vocal dose in women without vocal complaints. This is an experimental and comparative study. Data were collected on 27 women between 22 and 50 years of age without vocal complaints in a university classroom. Speech-language pathology evaluation was performed employing auditory-perceptual analysis and a vocal symptom questionnaire. The acoustics of the classroom were evaluated via both observation of the characteristics of the room and the quantification of background noise and reverberation time. Two distinctive acoustic conditions were created for evaluations: condition 1, a room without acoustic treatment and without noise reproduction, and condition 2, a room without acoustic treatment with noise reproduction. Each participant was evaluated individually in both acoustic conditions. To obtain vocal dose data, a vocal dosimeter was used. Subjects were asked to perform two 10-minute readings, one in each acoustic condition. The order of conditions was randomized between subjects. Subjects were instructed to complete the reading tasks at the vocal intensity deemed appropriate to be heard by a listener in the back of the room. t Tests and the Wilcoxon test were employed to compare parameters across subjects and conditions. Fundamental frequency, vocal intensity, percentage of phonation, and cycle dose significantly increased in the background noise condition. A positive relation between vocal dose and the presence of excessive noise in the environment was observed.