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Objectives: To report the incidence of allergic rhinitis in singers with nonspecific laryngeal examination findings and to correlate the incidence of allergic rhinitis with their vocal symptoms when present.Design: A retrospective review of all the medical records of singers with nonspecific laryngeal findings who presented to a specialty voice center for either vocal training or therapy between June 2002 and September 2005.Setting: Specialty voice center.Participants: Forty-five singers with nonspecific laryngeal findings who presented to a specialty voice center for either vocal training or therapy. Main Outcome Measures:A standardized validated questionnaire for evaluation of allergic rhinitis was filled out by all the subjects. A score above 0 was considered positive.Results: The total prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 87% (39 of 45 subjects). The singers with vocal symptoms were approximately 15% more likely to have allergic rhinitis than those with no vocal symptoms (92% vs 84%). Singers with more than 2 vocal symptoms had a 25% higher likelihood of having allergic rhinitis. Conclusions:The incidence of allergic rhinitis in singers is extremely high. Hidden respiratory allergies may affect the professional voice. Proper awareness and a multidisciplinary approach are indispensable for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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Objective: We aimed to report on the vocal technique in a group of Middle Eastern singers. Subjects and Method: A total of 78 Middle Eastern singers were assessed. Demographic data included age, gender, training status and number of years of singing. All singers had laryngeal videoendostroboscopy. Description and grading of posture, tension, type of breathing, type of phonation, resonance and tone quality are reported. Proportions and means (± SD) were used to describe the sample for categorical and continuous variables respectively. Associations between endostroboscopy and voice technique were determined by χ² or Fisher’s exact test. Results:There were 43 males and 35 females with an age ranging between 16 and 32 years and a mean of 23 ± 4 years. Of these, 88.5% were nontrained singers and 50% had more than 3 years of singing experience. Around 80% of Middle Eastern singers rely on either thoracic or clavicular breathing. Posture was average in 68% and moderate tension was present in 63% of the cases. Two thirds had a bright voice, 61% were hypernasal and almost 46% had a strained phonation. There was a significant correlation between posture and tension. Conclusion: Middle Eastern singing relies more on thoracic breathing and is characterized by tension.