Virtual Reality Therapy, Voice Disorders
Conditions
Keywords
Speech Therapy, Virtual Reality, Teacher's voice, Background Noise, School Teachers
Brief summary
Scientific literature supports that teachers are at greater risk for voice disorders than the general population. In the classroom, the teacher's voice represents the main communication tool. Optimal voice use is indispensable to ensure effective teaching and preserve the teacher's vocal health. This project investigates how virtual reality (VR) facilitates the learning of effective vocal skills and their application in real-world contexts. Based on acoustic analyses and self-assessment scales, the investigators compare 100 future teachers randomly assigned in two groups. The experimental group (n=50) receives a voice training by VR simulations and voice information. The control group (n=50) only receives voice information.
Detailed description
Experimental group participants receive direct method (three 1-hour sessions of voice training by virtual reality simulations over a course of 3 weeks) and indirect method (one 1-hour session of information on voice function and voice hygiene). Control group participants receive indirect method (one 1-hour session of information on voice function and voice hygiene).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALDirect Method
Learning effective vocal skills using speech therapy exercises and virtual reality simulations.
BEHAVIORALIndirect Method
Information on voice function and voice hygiene.
Sponsors
Universite du Quebec en Outaouais
University of Liege
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* future teacher having completed at least one internship as a schoolteacher * speaking French fluently
Exclusion criteria
* hearing impairment * voice pathology at the time of the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-perceived voice changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention | 3 weeks | Self-assessment of perceived vocal effort using the Adapted BORG Category Ratio (CR-10) physical exertion scale. On the scale, verbal expressions regarding vocal effort are anchored to the correct positions on a logarithmic ratio scale from zero (No vocal effort at all) to 10 (Maximum vocal effort), according to their quantitative meaning. |
| Voice frequency changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention | 3 weeks | Acoustic measurements of participants' voice frequency (in hertz) when speaking with and without background noise. |
| Voice intensity changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention | 3 weeks | Acoustic measurements of participants' voice intensity (in dB) when speaking with and without background noise. |
| Voice spectrum changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention | 3 weeks | Acoustic measurements of participants' voice spectrum (in Hertz) when speaking with and without background noise. |
| Speech rate changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention | 3 weeks | Measurements of participants' speech rate (in syllables per second) when speaking with and without background noise. |
Countries
Belgium
Outcome results
None listed