Why teachers are #1 (in the incidence of voice disorders)
A number of research studies - from around the world and through studying the issue from various perspectives - all point to the same result: teachers have more voice disorders than any occupational group. What makes the teaching profession vocally risky?
1. Teachers
simply use their voices more each day than most other professionals. Of
course, there are gaps in speech while teachers listen or write on the chalkboard,
but recent studies confirm that in a seven-hour work day, teachers speak about
one hour.
2. Teachers
get little recovery time - typically working five days a week with only
two-day weekends to rest. Personal and sick days are few and far between.
3. They are
constantly exposed to students with sniffles and sore throats. Viruses and
other upper respiratory episodes usually wreak havoc on the voice.
4. More children
are hard of hearing as compared to previous generations. Teachers find themselves
constantly cranking up their vocal volume so their students can hear them.
5. Environmental
conditions are less than ideal. In particular, chemistry, art and industrial
education teachers are exposed to irritating fumes. Chalk dust, dusty ventilation
systems, low humidity, or molds can all contribute to vocal tissue irritation
and difficulty voicing.
6. Many classrooms
have poor acoustics. Reflections from hard-surfaced walls and floors, high
ceilings and noisy heating and cooling systems create background noise for teachers'
voices to constantly battle.
7. About 75
percent of all teachers are female.
Since women usually speak at a higher pitch, their vocal folds collide more
times each day than those of men. Thus, women may be more prone to certain voice
problems such as nodules.
8. Teachers
probably haven't been taught healthy ways of speaking. Knowledge of optimal
voice use from disciplines such as speech-language pathology hasn't crossed
over to the field of education. Also, when teachers have a voice problem, they
may be unsure how to seek help.
Visit the Voice
Academy: a cost-free, virtual school created solely for the vocal health of
teachers (www.voiceacademy.org).