ABSTRACT
Despite the growing evidence of an increasing incidence of voice problems among professional voice users, initiatives to prevent occurrence are very sporadic and poorly reported. For example, Martin (1) points out the paradox that teacher competency requires an ability to communicate clearly and effectively, and yet training rarely includes voice care strategies. This is even more nonsensical given our knowledge of vocal attrition in this professional group (2-4). Ramig and Verdolini (5) estimate that approximately 25% of the working population have jobs that critically require voice use. However, they also note that there is little proof of any formal or
compulsory voice problem preventative initiatives for these workers. Furthermore, there is very little proof about the effectiveness of voice problem prevention programs in the research literature per se. Lehto et al. (6) reported the effects of a 2-day vocal training course on call center customer service advisors. They concluded that even a short vocal training program appeared to positively affect the self-reported vocal health of persons working in a vocally-demanding occupation. The authors acknowledge the need to expand the program to examine the effects on a larger number of nonselected workers over a longer time frame.
