الفهرس 
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Abstract
SUMMARY
T
he study aimed to detect voice problems among chanters. It was found that voice problems were not limited to those who use their voice a lot for work. Other factors may also affect vocal health. Many chanters did not receive any training before chanting, and many of them did not seek medical help for their voice issues.
Moreover, vocal hygiene advice was not widely available or accessible to chanters. Voice fatigue was the most common symptom among chanters, while a change in chanting voice was the least common. This implied that chanters may cause vocal strain, but most chanters could preserve their vocal quality.
Most chanters suffered from dysphonia, but it was usually mild. Strained voice was the most common, followed by leaky voice, and rough/irregular voice. These results show how the vocal folds were affected by chanting. Laryngeal changes detected among chanters were mild hyperemia, edema, and phonatory gap.
This study showed that chanters felt moderately handicapped by their voice problems, with an average VHI score of 50. This meant that their voice problems affected their quality of life in different ways, such as socially, emotionally, and physically. The VHI scores varied a lot among the chanters, which showed that voice problems were subjective and depended on how each person perceived and dealt with them. Therefore, it is important to assess and treat each patient according to their specific needs and goals.
In terms of acoustic measures, this study showed that all chanters had abnormal values for average fundamental frequency and jitter. Moreover, more than half of the chanters had abnormal values for shimmer and Harmonic to noise ratio (H/N).
Abnormal shimmer values were more common in chanters without ventricular band hypertrophy. Abnormal H/N values were more common in chanters with mild or moderate dysphonia. Shimmer and H/N tended to be higher in chanters who chant longer. Harmonic to noise ratio (H/N) was significantly related to the presence of mild or moderate voice problems with leaky character.
Seeking medical advice was not significantly related to shimmer or harmonic to noise ratio abnormality. There was no link between how long or how often people chant and their VHI score.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
T
he study findings show the importance of vocal hygiene and voice care among chanters as chanters are complaining of various voice complaints mostly voice fatigue. Further research is needed to explore the underlying causes of these symptoms and to develop effective strategies for prevention and treatment.
Moving forward, further investigations are warranted to explore the reasons behind the underreporting of voice complaints and the barriers to seeking medical advice. Additionally, studies should evaluate the effectiveness of vocal hygiene interventions. Understanding these aspects will inform tailored strategies to enhance vocal health awareness and promote early intervention.
The study also underscores the importance of considering voice complaints beyond occupational contexts and emphasizes the need for comprehensive vocal health education and accessible medical guidance.
Additionally, the study provides valuable insights into the perceived voice handicap among chanters with voice disorders and highlights the need for further research to better understand the factors contributing to the variability in perceived voice handicap and to develop effective strategies for the management of voice disorders. The study found no significant association between chanting duration or frequency and the VHI score. This contributes to the understanding of the effects of chanting on perceived voice handicap but more comprehensive studies are needed to confirm these findings and investigate other potential risk factors.
It’s important to note that this study is based on a small sample size, and the results may not be representative of all chanters. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings and are needed using both less and more experienced chanters to continue to document the role that chanting may play in maintaining vocal function. Longitudinal studies of chanters would be more helpful in documenting changes in vocal function over time.