PREDICTING VOCAL OUTCOME BY MEANS OF A VOCAL ENDURANCE TEST - A 5-YEAR FOLLOW-UP-STUDY IN FEMALE TEACHERS

Objectives: Investigate whether vocal problems in future professional activities can be predicted by early laryngeal and phoniatric evaluati on and whether a vocal endurance test can contribute to this evaluatio n. Study Design: Five-year follow-up study of 30 female education majo rs, initially documented with a standard voice assessment and a vocal endurance test. Measurements before and after vocal endurance testing were compared and related to the vocal outcome 5 years after the initi al testing. Methods: Voice assessment included perceptual evaluation, airflow measurements, Fo and SPL measurements, voice range profile and laryngeal (stroboscopic) examination. The Standard Tolerance Test, as recommended by the Union of European Phoniatricians, was followed. Th is data set was completed with a questionnaire concerning the subjects ' vocal behavior. This questionnaire was repeated 5 years later. Resul ts: No significant differences were found for ENT scores (laryngostrob oscopy) (P = .018). Logistic regression was used to determine a relati onship between initial observations and the final outcome. Conclusions : The role of an endurance test as used in this study is negligible fo r the prediction of vocal outcome. A combination of laryngeal examinat ion, maximum phonation time, and perceptual evaluation, assessed prior to the endurance test, reveals a prediction of the vocal outcome with a specificity of 90% and a sensitivity of 70%.