PURPOSE: to get data of vocal self-assessment and voice quality of life in hypertensive individuals. METHOD: this is a cross-sectional, exploratory and descriptive study. There were 84 individuals ,33 men and 51 women, 54 to 87 years (68 years-old average) who were divided into: Study Group (SG) - 42 individuals with hypertension and receiving specific drug treatment for this disease for at least one year; Control Group (CG): 42 non-hypertensive individuals with good self-reported general health. All participants answered a questionnaire with questions about vocal self-assessment and Voice-Related Quality of Life protocol (V-RQOL). RESULTS: it was not observed differences in vocal self-assessment of individuals in groups SG and CG (p = 0,075). Total average scores obtained in V-RQOL were also similar between both groups (p = 0,08). There was a difference between the groups regarding the self perception of the symptom of "a weak voice", which was more frequent in the SG (p = 0,015). CONCLUSION: the use of specific medications for hypertension didn't cause differences in vocal self-assessment and quality of life of the studied group, except for the perception of "weak voice". Non-hypertensive and hypertensive subjects had lower scores than subjects with healthy voice and without vocal complaints.
Dysphonia; Voice Disorders; Hypertension; Voice Quality; Voice
