The vocal mechanism is the most important instrument for singers. It could be assumed that singers care for their voices in order to sustain and improve their voice quality and function. Singers have reported higher prevalence of vocally harmful behaviors, vocal symptoms and voice disorders than non-singers. The purposes of this study were to investigate the prevalence of voice disorders among choir singers and to discover the risk factors associated with voice disorders. Another purpose was to explore the choir singers’ knowledge about the voice anatomy, physiology and voice ergonomics.

The data was collected with a web-questionnaire sent out via e-mail through two choral associations in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland. A few choirs that were not part of any of these associations were also contacted personally. The questionnaire included demographic questions and questions about vocal symptoms, vocal habits and voice knowledge. 315 adult choir singers participated in the study, 65 % of whom were women, and 35 % men.

Of the choir singers, 21 % experienced two or more frequently occurring vocal symptoms, which could be defined as a functional voice disorder. No significant gender differences in the prevalence of vocal symptoms were found in this study. The most common vocal symptom was throat clearing or coughing, frequently occurring for 29 % of the choir singers. Choir singers with a vocally demanding profession were almost twice as likely to report several frequently occurring vocal symptoms. Health-related risk factors, such as inhalant allergy and asthma, had a significant relation with the number of vocal symptoms. The voice knowledge among the choir singers seemed limited, although the scores were normally distributed. The understanding of the anatomy in the vocal fold area was limited, since a fifth was of the impression that water goes directly through the vocal folds. The voice knowledge was higher among women, younger participants, and among those who had singing education.

The prevalence of voice disorders among choir singers seems to be similar to the prevalence rate among professional voice users. Choir singers with a vocally demanding profession are at a higher risk of developing a functional voice disorder. Choir singers who suffer from, for example, inhalant allergy, asthma and reflux disease also run a greater risk of developing a voice disorder. The results of this study raise the importance of educating choir singers about the voice, in order to prevent development of voice disorders.