Influencing variables of VTD VTD ~ Corporal Pain Scale Department of Speech, Language and Hearing sciences Prevalence of vocal tract discomfort in the Flemish population without self-perceived voice disorders *Laura Bruneel, *Anke Luyten, *Iris Meerschman, *Evelien D’haeseleer, †,‡Mara Behlau, *Camille Coffe, and *, ¥ Kristiane Van Lierde * Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium † Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil ‡ Centro de Estudos da Voz - CEV, São Paulo, Brazil ¥Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University Of Pretoria, Pretoria, South-Africa Laubrune.Bruneel@ugent.be 333 participants Mean age: 30 years (y) 126 men Mean age: 31 y (SD: 12,0) Range: 18-81 y 207 women Mean age: 29 y (SD:12,2) Range: 18-66 y Background Vocal tract discomfort (VTD) is a frequently heard complaint in the voice clinic. The VTD scale1 can be used as a voice evaluation tool and can discriminate between groups. This scale describes the frequency and severity of sensations in the vocal tract. However, little information is yet available on the prevalence of VTD. Morever, the consistency between the VTD scale and other questionnaires frequently used in diagnosing voice problems, is still uncertain. The purposes of the current study were the following: Methodology 1 To assess the presence of vocal tract discomfort in the Flemish population without self-perceived voice disorders 2 To verify the relationship between VTD and activities with higher vocal load 3 To evaluate the consistency between the VTD scale and the VHI and the Corporal Pain Scale Questionnaire: - VTD scale1 - Voice Handicap Index (VHI)2 - Corporal Pain Scale3 Results and discussion Prevalence of VTD Influencing variables of VTD VTD ~ VHI VTD ~ Corporal Pain Scale 88% at least one symptom Dryness (70%) > lump in the throat (54%) > tickling (62%) The higher the frequency, the higher the severity ! However, frequency and severity of the symptoms are rather low Significantly higher results on the VTD scale ~ women ~ students ~ voice-related study ~ youth movement ~ to shout frequently ~ voice therapy ! No significant results for professional voice users and smokers - amount of vocal abuse was not questioned VHI > 20: 11% of the respondents A median number of 1 type of corporal pain was reported Significant positive correlations between items of the VTD scale and the total VHI score / VTD scale and the Corporal Pain Scale ! Nevertheless, positive correlations are low (maximum r=0.440)  Relatively high prevalence of VTD symptoms in the Flemish population  Vocal load seems to influence the frequency and severity of VTD  The VTD Scale provides important clinical information References 1Mathieson L, Hirani SP, Epstein R, Baken RJ, Wood G, Rubin JS. Laryngeal manual therapy: a preliminary study to examine its treatment effects in the management of muscle tension dysphonia. Journal of Voice. 2009;23(3):353-66. 2Jacobson, B. H., Johnson, A., Grywalski, C., Silbergleit, A., Jacobson, G., Benninger, M. S., & Newman, C. W. (1997). The voice handicap index (VHI) development and validation. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,6(3), 66-70. 3Van Lierde KM, D’Haeseleer E,Wuyts FL, et al. The objective vocal quality, vocal risk factors, vocal complaints, and corporal pain in Dutch female students training to be speech-language pathologists during the 4 years of study. Journal of Voice. 2010;24:592–598.