Classical singing handicap index (CSHI) in erudite singers

Area of Science:

• Vocal health and quality of life in professional musicians.
• Singing voice assessment and impact on professional singers.

Background:

• Assessing the self-perceived impact of vocal deviations on the quality of life for erudite singers.
• Understanding the relationship between vocal complaints and quality of life in professional singers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if vocal complaints in erudite singers cause a quality of life handicap in singing.
• To investigate correlations between this handicap and factors like gender, age, vocal classification, and singing experience.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 59 professional erudite choir singers on demographics and singing background.
• Categorization of singers into groups based on the presence of vocal complaints.
• Utilized the Classical Singing Handicap Index (CSHI) to measure the impact of voice abnormalities on singing.

Main Results:

• The Impairment and Disability subscales of the CSHI showed higher scores than the Handicap subscale for all singers.
• A significant correlation (p > 0.001) was found between vocal complaints and higher CSHI scores across all subscales.
• Within the group with complaints, women reported higher Disability scores than men. Older singers and those with longer singing careers had lower CSHI scores when they had no complaints.

Conclusions:

• Erudite singers experiencing vocal complaints or symptoms exhibit a higher handicap index in singing, particularly in the Impairment and Disability domains.
• Vocal classification was not found to be related to the handicap index.
• Vocal deviations significantly affect the singing quality of life for professional singers.