Evalution of the effect of noise exposureon vocal structuresby acoustic sound analysis

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of working in a noisy environment on the general parameters of the sound. 40 men with an average age of 37.8 working in a workshop environment were included in the study. It was recorded by making all the participants say the vowel phonemes -a, -e, -ı, -i, -o, -ö, -u, -ü for 3 seconds in a quiet environment, acoustic analysis was made with the praat program, fundamental frequency and harmonics, % Jitter , % shimmer and harmonic noise are evaluated. Praat software is free software developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink from the Department of Phonetic Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. In addition, voice handicap index questionnaire, perceived stress scale and noise sensitivity scales were applied to the participants. There was a weak negative, statistically significant difference between working time in a noisy environment and fundamental frequency (E, İ, O, Ö, U) measurements and F2-I measurement. Jitter-A was found to be statistically significant and higher in those working in a noisy environment for more than 10 years (P=0.039). F2-I was found to be statistically significant and higher in those working in a noisy environment for more than 10 years (P=0.026). F2-A was found to be statistically significant and higher (P=0.024 )in smokers. F2-I was found to be statistically significant and higher (P=0.009) in smokers. A moderate negative, statistically significant (rs = -0.454) relationship was found between working time in a noisy environment and stress. A weak positive, statistically significant (rs = 0.356) correlation was found between the voice handicap questionnaire (VHI) and F2-E measurement. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between VHI and Jitter E measurement. A weak negative correlation (rs = -0.361) was found between the noise sensitivity scale (WGHÖ) and the Jitter-I measurement. A weak positive (rs = 0.336) statistically significant relationship was found between stress and Jitter-I measurement. It was thought that loud background noise could be a risk factor for sound problems and would contribute to the awareness of employees on this issue. For this purpose, employees can be informed about protecting the sound quality by providing sound hygiene training. In addition, since the study group is limited in number and consists of only male individuals, the data obtained do not reflect the general population. For this reason, it is thought that there is a need for studies with more male and female participants.