Vocal range profile in elderly women with and without voice symptom

Abstract

Purpose: to characterize and compare the vocal range profile in elderly women with and without voice symptoms. Methods: a total of 23 elderly women attending an elderly care public service participated in the study. They were divided into groups - with and without voice symptoms, according to the results of the Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS). All participants were submitted to a vocal range profile analysis, by means of the Vocalgrama software. Appropriate statistical tests were applied, by adopting a significance level lower than 0.05. Results: the values for vocal range profile were 3.74% (±1.56) and 3.62% (±1.95) in the groups with and without symptoms, respectively. There were no differences between the groups in the various parameters of the vocal range profile. Conclusion: in the elderly women studied, the vocal range profile showed to be reduced, regardless of having or not voice symptoms. The importance of the elderly investing in the possibilities of vocal training is highlighted, with emphasis on vocal flexibility, aiming at increasing vocal range in this population.