Voice problems at work: A challenge for occupational safety and health arrangement

Abstract

In modern societies about one third of the labor force are working in professions in which voice is the primary tool. Voice problems are common in general, but they are even more common in professions in which there is heavy vocal loading, i.e. professions that do not only require prolonged voice use, but also involve extra loading factors such as background noise, long speaking distance, poor room acoustics, lack of adequate equipment like voice amplifiers etc. School and kindergarten teachers can be considered to represent professions with heavy vocal loading. The occupational safety and health arrangements of voice and speech professionals are poorly developed as compared to many other professions. However, the existing legislation could be used to support efforts to improve the working conditions of this large but heterogeneous group.