Vocal outcomes after COVID-19 infection: acoustic voice analyses, durational measurements, self-reported findings, and auditory-perceptual evaluations

PURPOSE: The ongoing literature suggests that COVID-19 may have a potential impact on voice characteristics during the infection period. In the current study, we explored how the disease deteriorates different vocal parameters in patients who recovered from COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 80 participants, 40 patients with a prior history of COVID-19 (20 male, 20 female) with a mean age of 39.9 ± 8.8 (range, 21–53) and 40 gender and age-matched healthy individuals (mean age, 37.3 ± 8.8; range, 21–54) were included to this study. The data of acoustic voice analyses, durational measurements, patient-reported outcomes, and auditory-perceptual evaluations were compared between the study group and the control group. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between the clinical characteristics of the recovering patients and measured outcomes. RESULTS: Maximum phonation time (MPT) and the scores of both Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) questionnaires significantly differed between the groups, which was more evident in female participants. The overall severity score of dysphonia was found to be higher in the study group than the control group (p = 0.023), but gender-based comparisons reached significance only in males (p = 0.032). VHI-10 and V-RQOL revealed significant correlations with the symptom scores of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a prior history of COVID-19 had significantly lower MPT, increased VHI-10 scores, decreased voice-related quality of life based on the V-RQOL questionnaire, and higher overall severity scores in the auditory-perceptual evaluation. Self-reported voice complaints disclosed close relationships with the symptom scores of COVID-19 disease.