Voice disorders in teachers: self-report, auditory-perceptive assessment of voice and vocal fold assessment Distúrbio de voz em professores: autorreferência, avaliação perceptiva da voz e das pregas vocais

PURPOSE: To analyze the presence of voice disorders in teachers in agreement between self-report, auditory-perceptive assessment of voice quality and vocal fold assessment. METHODS: The subjects of this cross-sectional study were 60 public elementary, middle and high-school teachers. After answering a self-awareness questionnaire (Voice Production Conditions of Teachers - CPV-P) used to characterize the sample and collect self-report data regarding voice disorders, the teachers were submitted to speech sample collection procedures and laryngoscopic examination. In order to classify the voices, three speech-language pathologist judges used the GRBASI scale, and an otorhynolaryngologist described the alterations seen in the vocal folds. Data were descriptively analyzed and then submitted to association tests. RESULTS: In the questionnaire, 63.3% of the subjects reported having or having had a voice disorder, while 43.3% were diagnosed with a vocal quality deviation and 46.7% with vocal fold alteration. There was no association between self-report and voice quality assessment, or between self-report and vocal fold evaluation, with low levels of agreement between the three assessments. However, there was association between voice quality and vocal fold assessment, with intermediate level of agreement between them. CONCLUSION: There were more self-reported voice disorders than what was found in the auditory-perceptive and vocal fold assessments. The intermediate agreement between the two assessments predicts the need for the use of at least one of these techniques when performing screening procedures in teachers.