[Voice-related quality of life and emotional distress in functional dysphonia during the COVID-19 pandemic].

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic led to physical illness, mental health disorders, social problems, and ongoing societal conflicts that have not yet been entirely resolved. Among the inflammatory processes associated with the virus, organic otorhinolaryngologic diseases occurred, resulting in functional impairments such as voice disorders caused by laryngeal affections. This study focused on the subjective suffering caused by functional dysphonia during the pandemic in patients who had not been affected by COVID-19. The underlying assumption was that the overall pandemic situation would alter both the healthcare-seeking behavior of affected individuals as well as their subjective assessments compared to the periods before and after the pandemic.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The study was based on clinical routine data collected from the phoniatric and pedaudiologic specialist practice of the second author covering the second quarter of 2019 through to the second quarter of 2023. A total of 972 adult patients who presented for the first time with functional dysphonia were included. Assessment tools were the Voice-Related Quality of Life (VRQoL) questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) that measure depression, anxiety, and stress.

RESULTS

In the quarter preceding the first lockdown, the number of patients was higher than the average of all other quarters, while it was lower during the quarter of the first lockdown. For the remainder of the observation period, patient numbers fluctuated without statistical significance. Across all measured domains, no significant differences were observed when comparing the periods before and after the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

No pandemic-related changes were found in the subjective experience of suffering from functional dysphonia, neither in terms of voice-specific dysfunction nor in emotional domains.