Purpose
To determine the correlation between voice symptoms and auditory-perceptual evaluation of voice in dysphonic patients.
Methods
We analyzed medicals records of 30 dysphonic patients with mean age 51.8±15.5 years, 22 of whom were woman and eight were man. The information collected included the results of the Voice Symptoms Scale (VoiSS) in the Limitation, Emotional and Physical domains and the total score and results of the auditory-perceptual evaluation according to the CAPE-V protocol. Both were evaluated by a speech pathologist on the first appointment. The data were statistically analyzed.
Results
There were significant positive correlations between “VoiSS total score” and “overall severity of vocal deviance” and “VoiSS Limitation” and “overall severity of vocal deviance”. VoiSS Limitation and Total Scores showed correlation with roughness. In contrast, there was no correlation of breathiness and strain with voice symptoms.
Conclusion
There is no direct correlation between voice symptoms and auditory-perceptual characteristics of voice. However, symptoms related to functionality, voice and communication limitations seem to have a greater correlation with clinical evaluation, specifically with the overall severity of voice deviance.
Voice; Voice disorders; Dysphonia; Self-assessment; Voice quality