Examination of Sound Quality and Stress Levels in Patients with Vocal Cord Nodules

Vocal cord nodules are the most common benign lesions in voice problems. It is most likely seen in women and children, but also in people who use their voice professionally and who do not pay attention to what to do to protect vocal hygiene. In addition, factors such as personality traits, psychological states and stress that can cause excessive muscle tension may also have a role in the formation of vocal cord nodules. In this study, it was aimed to reveal the relationship between stress and vocal cord nodule. A total of 31 patients admitted to the Başkent University Adana Seyhan Hospital, Ear, Nose and Throat Department between June 2017 and October 2017 and 31 volunteers with normal laryngeal examination and no voice complaints were included in the study. Laryngeal examination was performed on all participating individuals. Afterwards, personal information form and aerodynamic evaluation was performed to calculate the Maximum Phonation Time and s / z ratios were performed to all subjects. Voice Handicap Index (VHI) was used to assess the voice problems of individuals and Perceived Stress Scale and Coping Styles Inventory were used to determine stress levels. Finally, sound analysis was performed with the MDVP acoustic analysis program included in the CSL program. As the results of the study, it was found that in all parts of VHI, in s / z ratios, in the Ineffective Sufficiency Methods which is one of the subdivisions of Coping Styles Inventory and in the MDVP parameters Jita, Jitt, NHR, Shimm, ShimdB, FTRI, ATRI, vAm, VTI significant differences were observed. In conclusion, according to the present study and similar previous studies vocal cord nodules may be caused by many physiological and psychological reasons. When patients with vocal cord nodules are evaluated, it has been concluded that subjective evaluations as well as objective evaluations should be made and psychological characteristics such as personality and stress of these persons should be taken into consideration during the treatment process.