Effect of Muscle Tension Dysphonia on Self-perceived Voice Handicap and Multiparametric Measurement and Their Relation in Female Teachers

Abstract

Objectives Muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is a common voice disorder in teachers in which subjective and objective dimensions of quality of voice can be impaired. The study aimed to compare voice handicap index (VHI) and dysphonia severity index (DSI) in teachers with and without MTD as well as study correlation between them. Study design Cross-sectional survey. Method Fifty female teachers were enrolled in the study in two different groups (1) twenty-five teachers with MTD (with mean age of 42.62 ± 3.58 years) and (2) 25 teachers without MTD (with mean age of 44.50 ± 3.49 years). All participants completed the Persian version of VHI and underwent multiparametric measurement of voice by the DSI; these subjective and objective voice measures were compared between two groups and their relation was studied. Results There was significant difference in the VHI, DSI, and their components in teachers with and without MTD (P < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the total score of VHI and DSI score in the teachers with MTD (r Pearson: 0.04, p: 0.82), although there was significant correlation between them in the teachers without MTD (r Pearson: -0.75, p: 0.001). Conclusion Teachers with MTD demonstrated higher voice handicap and lower voice quality compared to the teachers without MTD. Moreover, dysphonia interrupted relation between the results of self-perceived evaluation and multiparametric measurement of voice in the teachers with MTD in while these assessments were parallel in the healthy teachers. Further studies are recommended to transparent relation between objective and subjective voice assessments in healthy population.