Understanding Teachers' Perspectives on Voice Relative to their Occupation.

Authors

Sara G Davis, Sara A Charney

Published in

Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation. Oct 15, 2026. Epub Oct 15, 2026.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize a large teacher population's vocal health-related practices, voice use requirements and patterns, prevalence of previous voice-related training(s), and their desire for future (voice-related) training. Another aim was to assess the interest in a future study centered on developing a voice protocol specific to the teacher population.
A total of 164 teachers (preschool through 12th grade) in the United States completed an anonymous 28-item online questionnaire addressing voice care, voice use, vocal demands, vocal difficulties, health-seeking behaviors, prior voice-related training, and perceptions and interest regarding involvement in voice-related training.
Among 164 teacher respondents, 96% reported more than 4 hours of daily voice use and 85% identified as occupational voice users. Voice-related symptoms were common, with over 85% reporting teaching-related hoarseness, 82% endorsing vocal strain, effort, and/or fatigue following a day of teaching, and 73% attributing vocal fatigue directly to their profession. Only 13% of those experiencing hoarseness sought medical evaluation. Most respondents had never received formal vocal health training (80%); however, 91% believed such training is important for educators, 73% expressed interest in attending a training program, and 57% indicated interest in participating in future teacher-specific vocal health research.
Teachers experience substantial vocal demands and a high prevalence of voice-related symptoms but receive limited formal education regarding vocal health/well-being. Overall, our study characterizes teachers' perspectives regarding occupational voice use and reveals an opportunity for voice-related medical professionals to assume an important role in educating and advocating for this population of occupational voice users. The study findings support the development of a teacher-specific voice protocol to serve as a preventative training tool to help mitigate the risk of dysphonia-related symptoms and promote vocal longevity throughout the teacher's career.

PMID:
42881048
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Oct 2026.

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