Difference in Voice Problems and Noise Reports Between Teachers of Public and Private Schools in Upper Egypt

Abstract

The working conditions and vocal health of teachers in Upper Egypt, especially in public schools, are alarming.

Risk factors for voice disorders in public school teachers in Cyprus

“…Another key finding of this study revealed that there were more teachers in the VDI > 7 group who reported using “very loud” and “excessively loud” voice in class and fewer subjects who stated to use “not at all loud” and “slightly loud” voice compared to the VDI ≤ 7 group. Similarly, Bolbol, Zalat, Hammam, and Elnakeb [ 8 ] identified that high voice loudness is a significant voice disorder risk factor that affects elementary, middle, and high school teachers’ voice in Egypt. Sathyanarayan, Boominathan and Nallamuthu [ 24 ] found that speaking in an uncomfortable loud voice was identified as one of the vocal abuse or misuse behaviors frequently used by teachers in India.…”

“…Significant identified factors were: the number of years of teaching, high background noise levels while teaching, psychological stress while teaching, improper breath management (holding breath while speaking), upper respiratory tract infections, thyroid problems, and acid reflux. Bolbol et al [ 8 ] studied risk factors for voice disorders among Egyptian school teachers. Significant risk factors pinpointed were the number of years of teaching (15 or more years of teaching) and the number of classes per week (15 or more classes per week).…”

The use of voice in higher education: What the professors have to say?

“…The intense noise most of the time forces them to raise the voice to communicate, potentially causing important changes, such as dysphonia 29,30 . The inadequate temperature and the dust present in the room are factors that bother the professors; these circumstances have been investigated by speechlanguage-hearing pathologists for some time 20,31,32 .…”

The Influence of Indoor Environmental Quality in Schools A Systematic Literature Review , Michael Donn and Geoff Thomas

“…It was found that, 48% reported moderate or severe dysphonia (speaking difficulty) within the last 6 months. Frequent feelings of being in noise were reported by all the teachers and 82% of them felt it mostly during the working day, which made them to raise their voice (Abo-Hasseba et al 2016). This suggests that poor thermal performance and acoustics could cause health problems in schools.…”