Objective: COVID-19 has radically changed medical practice. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of surgical mask (SM) on voice quality analyzes in a group of patient with different common benign vocal organic pathologies.
Study design: A cross-over study.
Setting: A group of 20 patients with different organic benign vocal pathologies was recruited from the ENT consultation of the University Hospital of Charleroi in Belgium.
Methods: On the day of the assessment, each subject underwent an endonasal laryngeal videostroboscopy followed by a voice analysis (VA) with and without a new SM. The following parameters were analyzed: fundamental frequency, maximum frequency, range in amplitude and frequency of the voice, jitter and maximum phonatory time.
Results: In this research, we showed that VA can be performed with an SM while not changing the measured vocal parameters. These results also suggest that for the same individual a VA performed before the pandemic without SM could be compared to one with a SM to follow the patient's evolution of his or her voice quality.
Conclusion: The wearing of an SM during VA should always be recommended in case of immunodeficiency, a contagious disease of the patient or during a (new) pandemic.
Keywords: COVID‐19; surgical mask; vocal analysis; voice patients.
© 2024 The Authors. OTO Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.