Vocal Fatigue in Prospective Vocal Professionals.

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Voice science
• Acoustic analysis

Background:

• Vocal fatigue is a concern for speech-language pathology students.
• Understanding vocal fatigue requires both subjective and objective measures.
• Psychosocial factors may influence vocal fatigue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine vocal fatigue in speech-language pathology students using subjective and objective measures after a 30-minute vocal loading task (VLT).
• To evaluate the impact of psychosocial factors on vocal fatigue.

Main Methods:

• Seventeen students performed a 30-minute VLT involving pitch and voice quality modifications.
• Vocal fatigue was assessed using the Vocal Fatigue Index and Borg vocal effort scale.
• Objective measures included sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, pitch strength, smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS), and acoustic voice quality index.
• Sleep, stress, and depression were surveyed.

Main Results:

• Perceived effort and fatigue significantly increased post-VLT.
• Acoustic measures of sound pressure level and fundamental frequency showed systematic increases.
• Students reported moderate stress, with pitch measures strongly correlating with perceived stress.

Conclusions:

• Altering multiple vocal parameters can induce measurable vocal fatigue even after short-duration VLT.
• Vocal loading tasks provide a method to study vocal fatigue.
• Psychosocial factors, particularly stress, are linked to vocal fatigue in students.