VOCAL COMPLAINT, AUDITORY-PERCEPTUAL ASSESSMENT OF VOICE AND VOCAL SELF-ASSESSMENT IN WOMEN WITH MORBID OBESITY

Background : Obese people often have altered breathing patterns and therefore may experience difficulties in voice production. Aim : To verify the presence of vocal complaints and the correlation between the auditory-perceptual analysis of voice and vocal self-assessment of a group of women with morbid obesity before and after bariatric surgery. Methods : A longitudinal, exploratory, descriptive study of 21 morbidly obese women aged between 28 and 68 years, assessed before and after bariatric surgery, was performed. The women filled out a form containing identification data and type of vocal complaint. Perceptual evaluation of voice and vocal self-assessment were performed using a visual analog scale. For perceptual assessment of voice the women were asked to say three sentences from the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice. Results : Of the 21 patients, 14 (66.6%) reported vocal complaints, of which 10 (71%) vocal fatigue, eight (57.14%) voice failures and seven (50%) vocal effort. All participants reported improvements in the voice after surgery, irrespective of having reported vocal complaints before surgery. There was no correlation between vocal self-assessment and auditory-perceptual assessment of the voice before or after the procedure. There was no correlation between vocal self-assessment and perceptual evaluation of the voice before surgery. Conclusion : Obesity interfered with voice production and influenced negative perception and therefore vocal complaints. Complaints about vocal production cannot be perceived by a speech therapist with the same impact as by patients, as both employ different criteria for vocal evaluation. Vocal self-assessment is an important tool in voice evaluation.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	SOUZA,Lourdes Bernadete Rocha de, PERNAMBUCO,Leandro de Araujo, SANTOS,Marquiony Marques dos, SILVA,Joana Cristina Vasconcelos da
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgia Digestiva 2015
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-67202015000600023
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