Prevalence of perceived dysphonia in a geriatric population.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize geriatric dysphonia, including its prevalence, quality-of-life impairment, and association with overall health status.

DESIGN: A validated survey-based study of geriatric dysphonia.

SETTING: An independent living facility for geriatric individuals.

PARTICIPANTS: The entire population of residents at the facility was offered the survey. The inclusion criterion was aged 65 and older.

MEASUREMENTS: Two survey-based measures were used to characterize dysphonia: a direct question asking whether participants had problems with their voice and a voice-related quality-of-life (V-RQOL) measure. In addition, participants were administered the 12-item Medical Outcomes Study Short Form survey, U.S. version 2.0, a concise survey designed to evaluate overall health status.

RESULTS: The prevalence of dysphonia was 20%. More than 50% of patients with voice problems incurred significant quality-of-life impairment resulting from their dysphonia as measured using V-RQOL scores. The mean total V-RQOL score+/-standard deviation was 89+/-20. Finally, general health measures did not reflect V-RQOL.

CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of voice problems in older people, with a large proportion having significantly impaired quality of life related to their dysphonia. General health measures do not reflect V-RQOL, and many individuals may wrongly attribute dysphonia to age-related change alone. Administration of validated instruments for assessing dysphonia is encouraged, because direct questions regarding voice difficulties may not be sensitive to the severity of vocal impairment.