title: Vocal Characteristics and Laryngoscopic Findings in Future Musical Theater Performers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Musical theater performers are a special group of elite vocal performers with a high vocal load as they combine singing, acting, and physical performance. As they are absolutely depending on their voice quality and vocal capacities for their studies and their future profession, an optimal voice production is very important. The purpose of this study was to determine the voice quality of musical theater students. The voice quality of seven students was then reevaluated 1 year after the first assessment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one musical students (7 men and 24 women) with a mean age of 20 years participated in the study. To determine the voice quality, objective (aerodynamic measurements, voice range profile, acoustic analysis, and Dysphonia Severity Index) and subjective (videolaryngostroboscopy, Voice Handicap Indexes, and questionnaires regarding voice symptoms and risk factors) voice measurements were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median Dysphonia Severity Index in male and female musical students was respectively 5.3 and 5.7, both corresponding with an overall good voice quality. The questionnaires revealed the presence of vocal fatigue, dryness of the throat, vocal tract discomfort, and harmful vocal habits in the majority of students. In 45% of the subjects, videolaryngostroboscopic evaluation of the vocal folds showed an organic lesion. The majority of these lesions are inflammatory lesions (26%). In 68% of the subjects, a certain degree of supraglottic constriction was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the overall good voice quality, videolaryngostroboscopy showed a high presence of vocal fold lesions and supraglottic constriction during phonation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Evelien.Dhaeseleer@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Evelien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'haeseleer
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claeys
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meerschman
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bettens
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Degeest
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dijckmans
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Smet
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luyten
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Kristiane
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Lierde
mesh_terms: D004324:Drama; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008297:Male; D063346:Singing; D013060:Speech; D049489:Stroboscopy; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014833:Voice Quality; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Future elite vocal performers; Musical theater actors; Vocal characteristics; Vocal fold function; Vocal quality