Short-term vocal outcomes of semioccluded vocal tract exercises in postmenopausal teachers

To estimate the short-term vocal outcomes of semioccluded vocal tract exercise in postmenopausal teachers.

Twenty-three postmenopausal teachers meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study, out of which three were lost to follow-up. The participants underwent baseline voice assessment using acoustic measures, aerodynamic measures, and perceptual measures. The participants completed eight face-to-face semioccluded vocal tract exercise sessions during the first month, comprising humming, lip and tongue trills, and straw phonation with and without water resistance. Daily home practice was also carried out over 3 months. Follow-up assessments were conducted at the end of 1 month and 3 months from the baseline assessment to estimate the changes in parameters over the intervention duration of 3 months.

Postintervention assessment indicated improvement in all the parameters with statistically significant changes in jitter, shimmer, mean pitch, mean intensity, and harmonics-to-noise ratio ( P <0.05), all showing strong effect sizes. There was also a notable improvement in the Acoustic Voice Quality Index ( P =0.050) and maximum phonation duration ( P =0.053). Cepstral peak prominence and s/z ratio showed no significant changes. Grade in GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain) rating showed a significant difference ( P =0.039). Further, the Voice-Related Quality of Life scores improved significantly from pretherapy to post-therapy.

The findings suggest that semioccluded vocal tract exercise, supported by structured sessions and consistent home practice, is effective in improving vocal outcomes in postmenopausal teachers. It serves as an effective therapeutic approach for addressing postmenopausal vocal changes in teachers who are not under hormone therapy.