{"id":47803,"date":"2001-09-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-09-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:51:28","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:51:28","slug":"unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible\n\nto Voice Disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found<\/p>\n

telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general<\/p>\n

population. They say the problems affect productivity and are associated<\/p>\n

with known risk factors.<\/p>\n

The results of the study, funded and conducted by the UNMC Department<\/p>\n

of Head and Neck Surgery, were presented Sept. 9 at the American Academy<\/p>\n

of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery Foundation annual meeting in Denver,<\/p>\n

Colo.<\/p>\n

The study is thought to be one of the first on voice disorders in telemarketers.<\/p>\n

According to the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, about 20,000 people are employed<\/p>\n

in the telemarketing industry in the Omaha area. At least another 30,000<\/p>\n

are employed in other jobs that require extended time on the telephone.<\/p>\n

Occupational voice disorders may be the result of the repetitive movement<\/p>\n

or collision of the vocal folds. Vocal attrition can be described as<\/p>\n

the wear and tear of the vocal mechanism and overall reduction in vocal<\/p>\n

capabilities.  Recent studies have shown an association between voice<\/p>\n

problems and vocally demanding jobs such as teaching, singing and aerobics<\/p>\n

instruction. In industrialized societies, voice problems can affect about<\/p>\n

one-third of the labor force where people rely on voice as their primary<\/p>\n

work tool.<\/p>\n

The UNMC study was conducted last year at six companies in Omaha and<\/p>\n

Lincoln: one outbound telemarketing firm, three reservations centers, one<\/p>\n

messaging company, and one telephone survey research firm. Researchers<\/p>\n

used questionnaires to test their hypothesis.<\/p>\n

Of 373 telemarketing employees, 81.5 percent, or 304 employees, completed<\/p>\n

a survey. Their responses remained anonymous and the employers approved<\/p>\n

of the research. Researchers compared the groups responses to a control<\/p>\n

group of 187 community college students similar to the telemarketers in<\/p>\n

age range, education level, and smoking status.<\/p>\n

The questionnaire polled the groups on demographic, vocational, personality<\/p>\n

and biological risk factors for voice problems such as medication usage;<\/p>\n

smoking; consumption of caffeinated versus non-caffeinated beverage; amount,<\/p>\n

speed, and volume of social speech; general activity level; and participation<\/p>\n

in vocally demanding activities. Telemarketers also were asked about the<\/p>\n

quality of their voice at the beginning and end of a shift; impact of any<\/p>\n

symptoms on the employee’s work; and social life.<\/p>\n

Researchers found a significant increase in the prevalence of symptoms<\/p>\n

of vocal attrition in telemarketers as compared to the control group of<\/p>\n

students. The telemarketing group was twice as likely to have one or more<\/p>\n

symptoms of vocal attrition. In addition, 30 percent reported their work<\/p>\n

was affected by symptoms.<\/p>\n

Telemarketers who said their work was affected by their voice problems<\/p>\n

averaged five symptoms, tended to be female and were more likely to smoke,<\/p>\n

take drying medications, be sedentary and have sinus problems and frequent<\/p>\n

colds.<\/p>\n

Voice problems not only decrease productivity, they are an occupational<\/p>\n

problem and can be compared to repetitive motion injuries like those associated<\/p>\n

with carpal tunnel, said Frederic Ogren, M.D., clinical associate professor,<\/p>\n

UNMC Department of Head and Neck Surgery, and principal investigator of<\/p>\n

the study titled, Prevalence and Risk Factors for Voice Problems Among<\/p>\n

Telemarketers. Omaha has a large group of telemarketers and thats one<\/p>\n

of the reasons we decided to do this study.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ogren, who now works in private practice and teaches parttime at<\/p>\n

UNMC, said most of the voice problems he and the other researchers found<\/p>\n

are treatable by staying hydrated to prevent drying out of vocal cords<\/p>\n

and to avoid stressing the vocal cords by speaking normally.<\/p>\n

The impetus for the study began several years ago when Dr. Ogden and<\/p>\n

Marsha Sullivan, speech pathologist at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at UNMC,<\/p>\n

began to see more patients with voice disorders who were employed as telemarketers.<\/p>\n

We have seen a variety of vocal conditions, from benign growths on<\/p>\n

their vocal cords resulting from continual use, to swollen vocal cords<\/p>\n

that caused chronic hoarseness, said Sullivan. But not all telemarketers<\/p>\n

have these problems.<\/p>\n

Researchers expected to find that people working eight hours or more<\/p>\n

would have more voice problems, but that wasnt necessarily the case, said<\/p>\n

Katherine Jones, of the UNMC Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine<\/p>\n

and first author of the study.<\/p>\n

To know who is most at risk for voice problems, a comprehensive evaluation<\/p>\n

needs to be done on a persons lifestyle and medical history, Jones said.<\/p>\n

Its not a simple answer of who is more at risk. You cant talk non-stop<\/p>\n

for eight hours and not have it affect your voice.<\/p>\n

Evaluation of occupational voice disorders must encompass all of the<\/p>\n

determinants of health status, and treatment must focus on modifiable risk<\/p>\n

factors, not just reduction of occupational vocal load.<\/p>\n

Although voice problems vary with individuals, Sullivan said some remedies<\/p>\n

may include drinking plenty of water, not smoking, proper posture, speaking<\/p>\n

at a normal rate, stress management and getting enough sleep.<\/p>\n

The researchers say more studies need to be done in this area of research<\/p>\n

and agree employers and employees need to share responsibility in preventing<\/p>\n

and treating voice problems.<\/p>\n

We have learned there are steps employers and employees can take that<\/p>\n

may help in terms of prevention of voice problems and maintaining productivity<\/p>\n

in this population of telemarketers, said Dr. Sigmon, a UNMC physician<\/p>\n

who specializes in disorders of the ear, nose and throat and who also worked<\/p>\n

on the study. UNMC is a resource in the diagnosis, management and education<\/p>\n

of these types of problems.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population. They say the problems affect productivity and are associated with known risk factors. The results of the study, funded and conducted by the UNMC Department of Head and Neck Surgery, were presented Sept. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nUNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"UNMC Today\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"UNMC Today\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"UNMC Today\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7a10902696c45a5370b361e3a9ce621\"},\"headline\":\"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders\",\"datePublished\":\"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":890,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/\",\"name\":\"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2001\\\/09\\\/11\\\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/overview-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/overview-1.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/unmcedu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/unmc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/iamunmc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/UNMCEDU\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7a10902696c45a5370b361e3a9ce621\",\"name\":\"UNMC Today\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/strategic-communications\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/author\\\/d1fe173d08e959397adf34b1d77e88d7\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders","description":"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders","og_description":"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","article_published_time":"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00","author":"UNMC Today","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@unmc","twitter_site":"@unmc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"UNMC Today","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/"},"author":{"name":"UNMC Today","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b7a10902696c45a5370b361e3a9ce621"},"headline":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders","datePublished":"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/"},"wordCount":890,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/","name":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2001-09-11T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-29T15:51:28+00:00","description":"Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have found telemarketers have a higher prevalence of voice problems than the general population.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/09\/11\/unmc-researchers-find-telemarketers-more-susceptibleto-voice-disorders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UNMC Researchers find Telemarketers More Susceptible to Voice Disorders"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"University of Nebraska Medical Center","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","width":500,"height":153,"caption":"University of Nebraska Medical Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","https:\/\/x.com\/unmc","https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b7a10902696c45a5370b361e3a9ce621","name":"UNMC Today","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/strategic-communications"],"url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/d1fe173d08e959397adf34b1d77e88d7\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73860,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47803\/revisions\/73860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}