Self-Reported Fatigue and Bioenergetic Pathways Secondary to Interventions for Vocal Fatigue: A Feasibility Study

Vocal fatigue, a multifaceted condition affecting professional voice users, significantly impacts occupational performance and quality of life, particularly in teachers, with a prevalence of 18%-33%. This feasibility study explored the metabolic and self-perceptual mechanisms underlying vocal fatigue and the efficacy of two intervention strategies: cardiovascular conditioning and voice production exercises.

The study involved 22 female teachers and college instructors categorized into high and low vocal fatigue (VF) groups based on the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI). Participants underwent 4-week interventions with outcomes assessed via VFI scores, perceived effort, metabolic costs, and recovery times for vocal tasks.

The results indicated intervention-specific benefits: voice therapy reduced tiredness, avoidance, and physical discomfort (VFI factors 1 and 2), improving loud speaking effort. Cardiovascular training alleviated symptoms of tiredness with recovery (VFI factor 3) and enhanced conversational speaking effort. Both treatments increased metabolic costs but shortened recovery times, suggesting a shift toward reliance on aerobic energy pathways. Patterns of improvement varied between high and low VF groups, emphasizing the heterogeneous nature of VF.

The findings highlight the need for personalized treatment strategies tailored to individual bioenergetic and self-perceptual profiles. Future studies should refine task designs and outcome measures to further delineate aerobic and anaerobic contributions to VF mechanisms.