Voice Outcomes of Straw Phonation Exercises for Telephone Customer Service Staff.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a straw phonation exercise program in preventing voice problems in telephone customer service staff.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study.

METHODS: Twenty-eight participants with no obvious voice problems were placed into two groups: the experimental (n = 13) and control (n = 15) groups. The experimental group received voice hygiene instructions and participated in a 3-week straw phonation exercise program, while the control group only received voice hygiene instructions. The acoustic parameters and Mandarin Chinese version of the Vocal Fatigue Index (CVFI) scores were statistically analyzed before training, immediately after training, followed up one and 3 months after training.

RESULTS: The results showed that speaking fundamental frequency (SF0 ), shimmer, and cepstral peak prominence (CPP) of the experimental group improved immediately after the straw phonation exercise program, and shimmer of the experimental group after training was also significantly lower than that of the control group. A higher SF0 and lower shimmer were noted in the experimental group during the follow-up phase, whereas factors 1 (voice load and fatigue) and 2 (physiological symptoms) of the CVFI did not differ significantly until the third month after training.

CONCLUSION: The study results suggest that the straw phonation exercise program can help telephone service staff to establish an appropriate speaking pitch and prevent voice fatigue.