ABSTRACT
Purpose
To analyze the occurrence of signs and symptoms in actors and associate those to their life habits and frequency at work, checking the existence of a functional relationship between the variables.
Methods
Retrospective research, as approved by the Ethics Committee, which included data collected through an online form. The answers of 100 actors to the Vocal Production of the Actor questionnaire regarding the presence of self-reported vocal signs and symptoms, life habits and frequency were descriptively and inferentially analyzed (as for the association between these variables, chi-square test, and p<0.05).
Results
Most were male, single, had completed higher education, and worked in more than a position with voice use. The most mentioned vocal symptoms were throat clearing, dry throat, rough voice, and dry cough, while the most reported habits were alcohol consumption, waking up at night, and not avoiding some kind of food. Some associations were noticed as protective factors in regression analysis: avoiding some foods for dry cough, not smoking for cough with mucus, waking up rested and drinking water for burning sensation in the throat and having leisure activities for shortness of breath.
Conclusion
Analyzing separately, actors presented vocal symptoms due to the inadequate use of voice and their life habits. However, the relevance of some life habits and the presence of vocal symptoms were associated, as well as the lack of some life habits in some actors, as protective factors for the presence of vocal symptoms.
Keywords:
Voice disorders; Signs and symptoms; Habits; Art; Worker’s health