Incidence of abnormal laryngeal findings in asymptomatic singing students

OBJECTIVE: Abnormalities in the mucosal lining of the vocal folds may inter fere with the normal vibratory patterns and result in vocal limitations, es pecially for singers whose demands are great. A prospective, longitudinal s tudy was undertaken to investigate the incidence of laryngeal abnormalities in asymptomatic singing students, METHODS: Sixty-five singing students at the school of music underwent video stroboscopic evaluation and completed a comprehensive questionnaire. Videos were rated by 3 experienced clinicians, and interrater reliability was cal culated. Results were correlated with demographic factors, background medic al history, and singing history. RESULTS: Five students (8.3%) exhibited early signs of benign vocal fold le sions (2 with nodules and 3 with cysts). A high incidence of posterior eryt hema (n = 44; 73.4%), suggesting possible reflux, was found. CONCLUSIONS: A surprisingly high number of otherwise asymptomatic singing s tudents demonstrated abnormal laryngeal findings. Their relationship with v ocal performance will be addressed as well as implications for preventative measures.