Correlation between voice handicap index by age and years teaching for teachers with voice complaints in Tehran elementary schools

Teachers use their voices more than do other professionals. This occupational circumstance makes them more prone to voice disorders in comparison with other groups. The purpose of this study was to determine voice handicaps in teachers with voice complaints and to study the correlation between VHI and patient age and years teaching. This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. Forty female teachers in Tehran primary schools with voice complaints participated. Background information was gathered by interview and a VHI was completed for each subject. Shapiro-Wilk was used to determine normality and the Spearman correlation was employed to evaluate the correlation between VHI and subscales by age and years teaching. All teachers with voice complaints had total and subscale voice handicap scores for VHI. There was a significant correlation between total and subscale scores of VHI by age and years teaching (p > 0.05). The findings indicate that teachers with voice complaints had total and subscale voice handicap scores for VHI. As age and years teaching increased, the voice handicap increased. This finding indicates that for teachers with voice complaints, there is a decrease in voice-related of quality of life and points toward the need for multilateral treatment with an emphasis on quality of life for teachers.