TEST-RETEST STUDY OF THE GRBAS SCALE - INFLUENCE OF EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND ON PERCEPTUAL RATING OF VOICE QUALITY

Perceptual evaluation was performed by means of the GRBAS scale for a series of nine pathological voice samples that were presented twice to a group of 23 judges, consisting of experienced and inexperienced oto laryngologists (ENTs) and speech-language pathologists (S/LPs). The ti me interval between ratings was 14 days. Test-retest reliability was m oderate. The best agreement between the observers was obtained for the G (grade) parameter and the worst for the S (strained) parameter. Con sidering the medians of the GRBAS ratings, no significant influence wa s measured for level of experience or professional background. Yet, ba sed on means, the results show that professional background has a grea ter impact on perceptual rating than experience.