Measuring Improvement in Teachers with Voice Complaints Using the Inability to Produce Soft Voice (IPSV): Preliminary Data

We assessed the Inability to Produce Soft Voice (IPSV) for tracking vocal improvement in teachers with general voice complaints, during and after voice therapy. Eleven grade school teachers received direct voice therapy (“Vocal Fold Adduction Training”, VFAT) or Voice Amplification (VA) over six weeks, and rated their ability to produce soft phonation using the IPSV before, during, and after treatment. Baseline ratings were also collected during a two-week period prior to VFAT and VA. Teachers were actively teaching during all phases of the study. Preto post-therapy IPSV changes were calculated, and compared to Voice Handicap Index (VHI) scores and acoustic voice measures. IPSV ratings decreased throughout therapy for the VFAT but not the VA group. Decreases were significant and correlated somewhat with VHI improvements. IPSV ratings during the baseline period were stable and showed no learning effect. Acoustic measures did not change significantly. The IPSV appears to sensitively track improvement in teachers with general voice complaints during a period of voice therapy, with no evidence of learning effect. Future research should replicate these findings with larger subject and control groups. The IPSV should also be tested for usefulness in tracking response to other voice treatments. Updates to this memo can be downloaded at http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/library/tech .