Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the vocal characteristics of patients with thyroiditis in a clinical setting.
Materials and methods: A total of 17 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of thyroiditis presenting to the endocrinology clinic were invited to participate in the study. A group of 29 healthy subjects were used as controls. They underwent acoustic analysis and a perceptual evaluation using the GRABS classification. The mean score of each parameter was computed, and the distribution of severity of each perceptual parameter were listed.
Results: There was no significant difference in any of the acoustic parameters between the patients and the controls, and there was no significant difference in the mean score of all the perceptual parameters between the patients and the controls. Even when examining the distribution of the severity of evaluation, there was no significant difference between the patients and the controls, as well.
Conclusion: Patients with thyroiditis do not have abnormal perceptual vocal evaluation or acoustic findings compared with controls. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.