Amina Imran, Humaira Shamim Kiyani.
Prevalence of Voice Disorders in Telemarketers.
J Riphah Coll Rehab Sci Nov ;03(01):08-11.

Background: Voice disorders are common complications among the professionals who are using voice as source of communication and earning.[1] Telemarketers are among the professionals who are using voice as source of earning. They are exposed to long hours of working hours [1]. This long exposure time leads to voice abuse and eventually ends up in voice disorders. It is crucial for the professionals to know about the voice disorders, its cause and risk factor.[2]This knowledge will lead to the broad awareness of voice disorders and its prevalence in telemarketers and its managements. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of voice disorders in telemarketers To determine the association behind the voice disorders and the cause/risk factors. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted in different telemarketing companies situated in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. 150 telemarketers were included in the study on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The demographic details of the participants are: male gender, ages between 25 to 35 years of age and work experience 1 year to 5 years with an exposure 10 to 12 working hours. Stratified random sampling technique was used for this study. Semi structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: The study showed that there is a high prevalence of voice disorders among the telemarketers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The results of the study reveal that 97.8% telemarketers have hoarseness. 89.7% telemarketer report that voice tires or the quality of voice changes.70.7% telemarketers have problem in soft speaking or when they speak loud. 89% of telemarketer have problem with voice range. The association between the cause and risk factor with voice disorders was measured by cross tabulating the values. The results showed significant associations between voice disorders and cause and risk factors. Where the association between use of tobacco and hoarseness yielded a high percentage of 96%, loss of voice range with neck and shoulder pain yielded 86%, pain in neck and shoulder and loss of voice range yielded a percentage of 85%, and speaking more than six hours and pain in neck and shoulder was78%. Conclusion: The results indicated high prevalence of vocal disorders among the telemarketers which was associated with lack of awareness, its management and long working hours.

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