Is the Voice of Professional Voice Users With no Vocal Cord Lesions Similar to That of Non Professional Voice Users?

The objective of this study was to analyze if the voice of professional voice users (PVU) is comparable with that of a nonprofessional voice users (NPVUs), both of whom have no obvious vocal cord lesions.Fifty professional and 50 NPVUs with no obvious vocal fold pathologies underwent voice analysis and videostroboscopic study, and various parameters were analyzed.Majority of the participants were found to be less than 40 years. Teachers formed the largest group (40%) of PVUs. PVUs had a significantly higher incidence of voice-related complaints compared with NPVUs. The former group also showed a higher deviation from the normative data. A significant influence of gender and the duration of work experience was also observed among PVUs.The voice of an apparently normal PVU is not similar to that of an apparently normal NPVU. Female PVUs and PVUs with a longer duration of work experience show the highest deviation from normative data.