A voice disorder or dysphonia refers to a problem with the voice or an unpleasant change in the voice. It can be caused by a structural defect (in this case structural dysphonia) or by the misuse and/or overuse of an apparently functionally and anatomically healthy vocal apparatus (in this case malregulatory dysphonia). It is important to know that from birth to old age, the voice is influenced by a number of different factors that can lead to the development of a voice disorder. We are particularly exposed to them during childhood, when the larynx is still developing and growing and is therefore more sensitive.
The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of voice disorders in children in Slovenia aged 6 to 9 years and to investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of voice disorders in Slovenian children in the first educational period of elementary school, i.e. from grade 1 to grade 3. A quantitative research approach was used to identify differences between children with and without dysphonia in a sample of 63 children aged 6 to 9 years. Based on the perceptive assessment of voice, we divided the children into those with and those without a voice disorder at the time of the study. Two short questionnaires for parents about their child's vocal habits and health problems, as well as the results of a speech therapist examination and aerodynamic measurements of the child's voice, were used to investigate what are the characteristics of children's voices, and which factors were most likely to contribute to the risk of dysphonia in this age group.
Voice disorders were found to be quite common in children aged 6 to 9 years, with almost half of the total sample having voice problems. The results showed that voice disorders were more common in younger children, but there were no statistically significant differences by gender. The results show that parents' perception of the quality of their child's voice differs from the quality of their child's voice as assessed by a specialist (phoniatrist). In fact, the parents stated in the questionnaire that, according to their subjective assessment, no child had a voice disorder, while the perceptual assessment by a specialist revealed a voice disorder in 31 out of 63 children. A large number of risk factors for dysphonia were examined in the empirical work, but in the end none of them proved to be statistically significant. It was also found that more than 20% of children with voice disorders had already been examined by an ENT specialist but not by a speech and language therapist. Aerodynamic measurements of children's vocal patterns showed that the maximum phonation time of the vowel /a/ was shorter in those with voice disorders than in those without voice disorders, and no statistically significant differences were found in the ratio of phonation length of voiced to unvoiced consonants.
The results of this study can make an important contribution to raising public awareness of the need for early detection of dysphonia, which unfortunately still often goes unnoticed – especially by parents. This in turn can help to refer children to an appropriate specialist in a timely manner and consequently correct childhood voice disorders, which is crucial for the rehabilitation process and increases the child's chances of a professional future.
|
