A standardized, perceptually based description of hoarseness is of importance for clinical purposes (e.g. therapy evaluation) as well as in research on voice disorders. The reliability and relevance of perceptual parameters are investigated. The GRBAS scale parameters quite well fit the criteria: low intrajudge and interjudge variance but high intervoice variance. The best correlation between judges (0.7) is found for the overall grade of severity. Impressions of the asthenic-strained voice quality are less consistent, but still show a significant interjudge correlation. The overall grade of severity seems to be mainly determined by the component breathiness. Roughness and breathiness are negatively correlated with each other. Tonus is correlated neither with roughness nor breathiness. The GRBAS profiles significantly differ between the different pathological groups.