The Role of Various Allergic Diseases on Phonation

The authors aimed to investigate the influence of allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, food allergies, and atopic dermatitis on phonation.

The study included 80 patients diagnosed with allergies (20 with allergic rhinitis, 20 with allergic asthma, 20 with food allergies, and 20 with atopic dermatitis), as well as 20 healthy controls. Voice recordings were collected from all groups, and both aerodynamic and acoustic analyses of the voice were performed. In addition, a subjective evaluation was conducted using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10) questionnaire.

The maximum phonation time (MPT) was lower in the allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma groups compared with the other groups. The decrease in MPT was more pronounced in the group with allergic asthma. No statistical differences were found in s/z ratios, F0, and jitter values when all groups were evaluated together or compared individually. Shimmer values were significantly higher in all allergic disease groups than in the control group. VHI scores were higher in the allergic rhinitis and asthma groups than in all other groups. In addition, VHI scores were more significant in the food allergy and atopic dermatitis groups compared with the control group.

Voice is negatively impacted by allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma, which affect the respiratory tract. In patients with food allergies and atopic dermatitis, where the respiratory tract is not directly involved, dissatisfaction with voice quality is found to be more pronounced than in the general population, particularly in subjective evaluations, without a corresponding correlation to the results of objective measurements.