Voice care knowledge by dysphonic and healthy individuals of different generations

The purpose of this study was to identify the opinions of both dysphonic and vocally healthy individuals regarding the factors that affect their voices positively and negatively, analyzing them according to the generation to which the participants belong. Eight hundred sixty-six individuals (304 dysphonic and 562 vocally healthy; 196 men and 670 women) categorized by generation: 22 individuals in Silent Generation (1926/-/1945), 180 in Baby Boomers (1946/-/1964), 285 in Generation X (1965/-/1981), and 379 in Generation Y (1982/-/2003) responded to two open questions: "Cite five things that you believe are good/bad to your voice". Five thousand, two hundred sixty answers were identified (2478 positive and 2782 negative) and organized in 365 factors related to voice care. The three most prevalent positive and negative factors for each generation were as follows: Silent Generation - positive factors: 1 - water, honey and pomegranate, 2 - apple, and 3 - ginger tea, voice exercises and gargling; negative factors: 1 - cold drinks, 2 - excessive speaking, and 3 - alcoholic drinks, smoking and screaming; Baby Boomers - positive factors: 1 - water, 2 - apple, and 3 - sleeping well; negative factors: 1 - cold drinks, 2 - screaming, and 3 - smoking; Generation X - positive factors: 1 - water, 2 - apple, and 3 - vocal warm-up; negative factors: 1 - screaming, 2 - smoking, and 3 - alcoholic drinks; and Generation Y - positive factors: 1 - water, 2 - apple, and 3 - vocal warm-up; negative factors: 1 - screaming, 2 - smoking, and 3 - alcoholic drinks. The impact of generation was greater on the frequency of the responses than on their type. Water and apple were the most frequently cited positive factors for all the generations investigated, whereas screaming and smoking were the most frequently mentioned negative factors. Behavioral aspects related to popular beliefs were reported more frequently by the older generations.