2013 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 14-19
In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the correlation between self-voicing and non-self-voicing, and environmental sound in professional voice abusers. For this purpose, we used a hearing aid with data logging system. Kindergarten teachers and childcare workers showed longer self-voicing time, accounting for over one-third of their 8-hour working time, than speech-language-hearing therapists, housekeepers and office workers. The highest average sound pressure of self-voicing was 85 dB in kindergarten teachers, followed by 75 dB in childcare workers. Non-self-voicing time accounted for about half of the working time in kindergarten teachers and childcare workers, and their average sound pressures were 85 dB and 75 dB, respectively. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between self-voicing pressure and non-self-voicing pressure, but not between self-voicing pressure and environmental sound pressure. These findings suggest that kindergarten teachers and childcare workers are professional voice abusers because they have to use high-pressured self-voicing for a long time against high-pressured voicing from children in mutual verbal communication.
