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Objective: Our study aims to determine the presence of voice disorder in religious officials and to examine the differences in temperament and personality traits between religious officials with and without voice disorder., Methods and Procedures: A total of 87 religious officials between the ages of 18 and 65 were included in the study. For the objective evaluation of the voice of all individuals, a videolaryngostroboscopic examination was performed by a specialist Ear Nose Throat physician using a rigid endoscope. For temperament and personality assessments, each participant completed the TEMPS-A Temperament Rating Scale Turkish version and the Big Five-50 Personality Test Turkish Form (B5KT-50-Tr). All individuals were divided into groups according to the presence of voice disorder., Results: Sixty-five of 87 individuals were found to have normal voice health, and 22 individuals were diagnosed with voice disorder. While there was a significant difference between the groups with and without voice disorder in terms of extraversion and emotional stability scores on the B5KT-50-Tr scale (P < 0.05), there was no significant difference in TEMPS-A temperament scale scores., Conclusions: There was no discernible disparity in the temperament traits of religious officials with and without voice disorders. It should be emphasized that religious officials who suffer from voice disorders exhibit personality traits such as low extroversion and emotional stability. The improvement of more effective intervention strategies can be boosted by considering the temperament and personality traits of these individuals while planning the voice assessment and therapy processes of these religious officials., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the impact of different types of masks on the voices of healthcare professionals who had to wear masks for an extended amount of time during the pandemic period and had a healthy voice., Methods: Our research included 41 healthcare workers. The participants were separated into two groups: surgical (n = 21) and N95 mask users (n = 20). Healthcare workers evaluated masks before and after wearing them for at least 8 hours throughout the workday. All subjects had a videolaryngoscopic examination; the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), GRBAS, acoustic voice analysis (F0, jitter%, shimmer%, noise/harmonic ratio, relative average perturbation [RAP]), aerodynamic measures (maximum phonation time, MPT), and blood oxygen saturation were evaluated., Results: Although both groups' VHI-10 scores increased after using the mask, this rise was not statistically significant in our research. According to the GRBAS classification, voice quality deterioration was identified in 9.6% (mild-moderate) of the group using surgical masks and 15% (mild) of the group wearing N95. Only the jitter and RAP values of individuals wearing both surgical and N95 masks were determined to be statistically significant. There was no significant change in MPT following mask wear in either group. Both the surgical and N95 mask-using groups showed a substantial drop in blood oxygen saturation before and after mask usage., Conclusion: There was no change in voice quality between healthcare workers wearing surgical and N95 masks. It has been noticed that voice perception and quality are affected by the mask's barrier effect rather than the kind of mask., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aims to is to develop a disorder-specific patient-reported outcome measure to be used in Islamic clergymen with voice disorders and to investigate its validity and reliability., Methods and Procedures: Employing an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, this study conducted in two phases. Initially, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 clergymen experiencing voice disorders. Subsequently, the questionnaire underwent rigorous validation, encompassing content, construct, and criterion validity assessments, in addition to test-retest reliability and internal consistency analyses. The index was administered to a sample of 110 male clergy, including imams, muezzins, and Quran course teachers, with an age range from 19 to 61years., Results: Construct validity was established through factor analysis, resulting in a final 23-item scale categorized into two factors: physical-functional and emotional. Known group validity demonstrated a significant distinction between the study and control groups. Criterion validity reinforced the index's validity, displaying a correlation coefficient of 0.758 between the Voice Handicap Index for Clergymen and the well-established Voice Handicap Index. The questionnaire exhibited commendable internal consistency, with a Cronbach's Alpha (α) coefficient value of 0.971. Test-retest reliability analysis exhibited strong consistency, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.863., Conclusions: It is recommended that the developed valid and reliable handicap index in the present study be included in the voice assessment batteries of Islamic clergymen with voice complaints with the clinical and research purposes. In future studies, the validity of the questionnaire can be investigated more by examining the difference between the Voice Handicap Index for Islamic Clergymen (CVHI) scores obtained before and after treatment. Identifying a cut-off point that discriminates between dysphonic and normophonic clergymen may allow the use of the CVHI as a screening tool for this population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Call center employees are professional voice users and use their voices extensively while performing their professional functions. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a higher occupational voice burden among call center employees affects voice fatigue and perception., Methods: A total of 114 adult individuals working in call centers who were not diagnosed with any voice disorder (study group, n = 57) and who were not professional voice users (control group, n = 57) were included in this study. Demographic information, the Voice Fatigue Index (VFI), and the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) were administered to all participants. Sub-factors of the VFI, such as tiredness and avoidance of voice use (factor 1), physical discomfort after voice use (factor 2), and improvement in symptoms with rest (factor 3), were also examined., Results: Each group included 71.9% females (n = 41) and 28.1% men (n = 16). The scores of VFI factor 1, VFI factor 2, 3, VFI TOTAL , and VHI-10 in the study group were statistically higher than those in the control group. The average VFI factor 2, VFI factor 3, and VFI TOTAL scores of females in the study group were considerably greater than the average scores of men. The VFI and its sub-factors, as well as the VHI-10 scores of the study group whose daily working hours were 8 hours or less and 8 hours or more, did not vary significantly., Conclusions: It has been observed that call center employees experience voice fatigue, which has an impact on voice perception in their professional functions. As a result of their heavy vocal load, contact center workers may be at a higher risk of acquiring voice disorders. Voice fatigue must be taken into account in the assessment and intervention of contact center employees by professionals and therapists working in the field of voice., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A voice activity and participation profile (VAPP) is a self-assessment tool used to measure activity and participation limitations resulting from voice disorders. This study aims to demonstrate the adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Turkish version of the VAPP scale. A total of 231 individuals, 155 with voice disorders (patient group) and 76 without voice disorders (normal group), were included in this study. With reliability, internal consistency, and test-retest methods; validity was evaluated with criterion and convergent validity methods. The Cronbach α coefficient calculated for internal consistency was found to be 0.985 for the VAPP total and between 0.914 and 0.978 for the subsections. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was found to be 0.974 for the VAPP total and between 0.800 and 0.981 for the subsections. Total and subsection scores of the VAPP scale had correlation coefficients ranged between 0.725 and 0.903 with VHI T and V-RQOL T in the whole sample (all P<0.001). The cut-off point was determined as ≥ 8 by ROC curve analysis for criterion validity. VAPP-TR is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to evaluate the quality of life of Turkish patients with voice disorders, particularly those with activity limitations and participation restrictions., (Copyright © 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between morphological features of vocal fold polyps (VFPs) and subjective/objective voice parameters., Methods: Perceptual evaluations, aerodynamic and acoustic tests were performed on 47 patients with VFPs. Still images were captured from video and the morphological features associated with the size of VFP were quantified. To reveal the correlation between size-related morphological features (length of polyp base, the ratio of polyp base to vocal fold length, glottal gap area) and objective/subjective parameters of voice, Pearson's and Spearman's tests were carried out., Results: This cohort was composed of 30 (63.8 %) male and 17 (36.2%) female patients with the mean age of 45.2 years and 41.3 years, respectively. No correlation was found between the morphological features of VFPs and any of perceptual, aerodynamic and acoustic voice parameters., Conclusions: Our findings indicated that controversies still exist regarding the role of vocal fold polyp morphology in clinical decision making., (Copyright © 2019 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)