Author(s)
David R. Lee MD
Barbara Weinrich PhD
Wendy Leborgne PhD
Stephanie Zacharias PhD
Christopher Eanes PhD
Alessandro De Alarcon MD
Affiliation(s)
University of Cincinnati
Abstract:
Educational Objective: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to describe the endoscopic laryngeal findings of male prepubertal singers. Objectives: The male singing voice through puberty undergoes many changes that present challenges for the singer and choral director. The purpose of this study is to discuss the endoscopic findings seen in prepubescent boy choir singers. Study Design: Single institution prospective study. Methods: All subjects were recruited from the local boy choir, and were described as Cooksey stage unchanged or midvoice I. History was obtained via questionnaire at the initial visit. Subjects with known laryngeal pathologies were excluded. All endoscopic laryngeal examinations were performed using videoendoscopy. During examination, each subject sang four discrete frequencies. The findings of the endoscopic exam were judged by a pediatric otolaryngologist and two speech pathologists focusing on voice disorders. Results: We evaluated 28 subjects prior to vocal maturation. Their age range was 8 - 13 years old (mean=10.2±1.2). All 28 were self described as soprano. The subjects had a mean of 1.7±1.1 years in the boy choir (0-5 years). None reported history of vocal issues or voice problems in the past; 7 (25%) subjects had bilateral vocal cord lesions seen at one or more frequencies; 26 (93%) subjects had a posterior gap at one or more frequencies. Conclusions: Our study aimed to describe the laryngeal examination of dedicated boy choir singers prior to undergoing pubertal development and vocal maturation. Interestingly, 7 subjects were found to have laryngeal pathology that was previously unknown and that was asymptomatic. This suggests that asymptomatic lesions are not uncommon in boy choir singers and may suggest that this can also be seen in the general population.