PURPOSE:
to associate the rates of vocal self-assessment and clinic evaluation data from of dysphonic individuals.
METHODS:
observational, descriptive and retrospective study. It was studied medical records of patients treated at a school-clinic of Speech Language Patology in the period from 2007 to 2011. Data were presented regarding the vocal self-assessment (voice related quality of life, vocal handicap index and assignment of note regarding the impact vocals), anamnesis (gender, age, occupation, type of abuse, duration of abuse, previous treatment for dysphonia), perceptual evaluation (vocal quality, degree of alteration, pitch, loudness, resonance, articulation and CPFA) and objective data (maximum fonation time and relation between consonants s / z). Data were statistically analyzed.
RESULTS:
there was no difference in comparing the scores of voice related quality of life, vocal handicap index with variables related to gender, vocal quality, grade of dysphonia, pitch, resonance, articulation, rhythm of speech and type of dysphonia. Individuals with pneumophonoarticulatory incoordination, who use their voice professionally and who have made previous treatments for dysphonia were the worst rates in the vocal self-assessment. There were no correlations between rates of vocal self-assessment and other continuous variables (age, duration of abuse, maximum phonation time and relation s / z).
CONCLUSION:
the vocal self-assessment is a very subjective impression, and is independent of most of data collected in the clinical evaluation. Being professional voice, already have had other previous treatments for dysphonia, and incoordination pneumophonoarticulatory seem to influence negatively on the individual's self-assessment about the impact of dysphonia in his/her daily life.
Voice; Voice Disorders; Dysphonia; Quality Of Life
