Prevalence and clinical characteristics of dysphonia in teachers following COVID-19 infection

Background Teachers constitute a professional group with substantial vocal demands and an elevated risk of voice disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may adversely affect vocal function. This study examined the prevalence, symptom characteristics, severity, and duration of self-reported dysphonia among teachers who had been infected with COVID-19. Methods A total of 172 public school teachers completed an online questionnaire. Participants were categorized according to their Voice Disorder Index (VDI) scores into those without self-perceived voice problems (NVP) and those with self-perceived voice problems (VP). Between-group differences in dysphonia characteristics were analyzed using chi-square statistics with adjusted residual analysis. Results Teachers in the VP group demonstrated significantly higher rates of moderate and severe dysphonia, longer symptom duration (≥ 1 month), and greater prevalence of hoarseness, breathiness, pitch alterations, hyponasality, and vocal fatigue during and/or following COVID-19 infection. Among teachers without pre-existing dysphonia, new-onset voice symptoms occurred in 60.0% of the VP group and 34.7% of the NVP group. Conclusions COVID-19 infection appears to be associated with both exacerbation of pre-existing voice problems and development of new onset dysphonia in teachers. Preventive and rehabilitative voice care programs may reduce the occupational and psychosocial impact of post-COVID vocal impairment.