Voice Fatigue and Voice-Related Quality of Life in Audiologists: The Effect of Different Workplace Settings and Fields of Work

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine audiologists voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) and voice fatigue index (VFI) levels and investigate the relationship between the two scales.

Materials and Methods: The study involved 120 audiologists, including 30 working in clinics, 30 working in hearing aid centres, 30 working in rehabilitation centres, and 30 working as academicians. The audiologists were asked to complete a demographic information form, voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL), and voice fatigue index (VFI).

Result: In this study, the total and subscale scores of the VFI did not show statistically significant differences among audiologists working in different professional settings. Although mean values of fatigue, physical discomfort, avoidance, and voice rest sub-dimensions varied descriptively across settings, these variations did not reach statistical significance. Therefore, no significant voice fatigue was observed in the audiologist's setting, and the VFI subdimensions did not differ significantly between groups (p>0.05). No significant difference was found between the V-RQOL total score, physical function, and social-emotional sub-dimensions of audiologists who work in different professional settings (p>0.05). When the VFI scores of audiologists working in different professional settings were compared, a statistically significant difference was found between the groups in the VFI voice rest subcategory (p<0.05). According to the multiple comparison test results, a significant difference was found between audiologists who work in different professional settings in the VFI sub-dimension (p=0.048). This difference was observed between individuals working in special education and rehabilitation and those working in clinics.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that audiologists generally have a high voice-related quality of life, while perceptions and complaints of voice fatigue vary across different professional settings. Although audiologists can use their voices effectively and voice-related problems do not substantially interfere with daily life, workplace factors may influence the experience of voice fatigue. Overall, voice-related quality of life appears to remain preserved despite differences in occupational vocal demands.

Keywords

• Voice Fatigue İndex
• Voice-Related Quality of Life
• Audiologist

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