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Quality of life and voice: the vocal self-perception of transgender people

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To analyze the impact of voice on the quality of life of transgender (or trans) people and to relate to vocal self-perception, gender identity.

Methods

27 individuals aged between 18 and 49 years, users of the Ambulatório Trans de Sergipe: – “Portas abertas - Saúde integral das pessoas trans: cuidar e acolher” - Universidade Federal de Sergipe” were included. After anamnesis, the Quality of Life in Voice (QLV) instruments, the Transgender Voice Questionnaire (TVQMtF) and the Voice Disorder Screening Index (VDSI) were applied. The highest number of trans men (63.0%) was observed in relation to the group of trans women (37.0%). The average age was 26.7 years (±9.1). 96.3% had a specific voice complaint.

Results

QLV presented a mean value of 26.1 points for total scores, the VDSI of 3.9 and TVQMtF of 70.6, with no significant relationship between results and gender identity and age. A significant relationship was observed between QLV and TVQMtF.

Conclusion

This study observed a poor quality of life in voice in trans people. Thus, the higher the perception of their vocal disorders, the worse their quality of life, regardless of gender (female or male) and possible vocal disorders.

Keywords:
Transgender persons; Quality of life; Voice quality; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; Self concept

RESUMO

Objetivo

Analisar o impacto da voz na qualidade de vida de pessoas transgênero (ou trans) e relacionar com a autopercepção vocal e a identidade de gênero.

Métodos

Foram incluídos 27 indivíduos com idades entre 18 e 49 anos, usuários e usuárias do Ambulatório Trans de Sergipe: – “Portas abertas - Saúde integral das pessoas trans: cuidar e acolher”, da Universidade Federal de Sergipe. Após anamnese, foram aplicados os instrumentos de Qualidade de Vida em Voz (QVV), o Transgender Voice Questionnaire (TVQMtF) e o Índice de Triagem para Distúrbio de Voz (ITDV). Foi observado maior número de homens trans (63,0%), em relação ao de mulheres trans (37,0%). A média de idade foi de 26,7 anos (±9,1) e 96,3% dos sujeitos possuíam uma queixa específica de voz.

Resultados

O QVV apresentou um valor médio de 26,1 pontos para o escore total, o ITDV de 3,9 e o TVQMtF de 70,6, não havendo relação significativa entre os resultados e a identidade de gênero e a idade. Foi observada relação significativa entre o QVV e o TVQMtF.

Conclusão

Observou-se uma baixa qualidade de vida em voz nas pessoas trans. Desta forma, quanto maior a percepção de suas alterações vocais, pior a sua qualidade de vida, independente do gênero com o qual se identificam (feminino ou masculino) e de possíveis distúrbios vocais.

Palavras-chave:
Pessoas transgênero; Qualidade de vida; Qualidade da voz; Fonoaudiologia; Autoimagem

INTRODUCTION

Transsexuality, as it involves the body, identity, and gender, challenges the ideals of heteronormative society and is a complex subject(11 Silva AL, Oliveira AAS. Transexualidade/travestilidade na literatura brasileira: sentidos e significados. Arq Bras Psicol. 2013;65(2):274-87.), presented as an experience of conflict between beings and gender norms, which define that real men and women have penises and vaginas and must behave actively and passively as such. Thus, only heterosexuality would make sense of these anatomical differences. Therefore, an association is created in which the body refers to sex and gender only exists when associated with this relationship. When gender manifests itself outside this association, it is marginalized and analyzed as a disturbed identity and even subject to diagnosis(22 Bento B. A reinvenção do corpo: sexualidade e gênero na experiência transexual. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond; 2006.).

After years of struggle by social movements, the World Health Organization (WHO), updating the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-11, which replaced ICD-10, removed the term transsexuality from the chapter on “personality and behavioral disorders”, in a subchapter called “gender identity disorders”, to integrate a new chapter, entitled “conditions related to sexual health” and classified as “gender incongruity”. Thus, transsexuality is no longer related to a choice or to mental illness, starting to be considered a matter of identity(33 Jesus JG. Orientações sobre a população transgênero: conceitos e termos. Brasília: Autor, 2012.).

The voice plays a fundamental role in the process of building this new identity, whether in self-acceptance or in social receptivity(44 Pérez Alvarez JC. Voice and identity in transsexuality. Handchir Mikrochir Plast Chir. 2011;43(4):246-9. PMid:21833878.) and self-image, measured by means of instruments that help the subject's perception of his voice, which is part of this process(55 Costa EBM, Pernambuco LA. Autoavaliação vocal e avaliação perceptivo-auditiva da voz em mulheres com doença tireoidiana. Rev CEFAC. 2014;16(3):967-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620145913.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620145...
). It is essential, therefore, to include the individual's perspective when evaluating the results of the procedures performed, be it voice therapy, surgery or drug treatment(66 Dacakis G, Oates J, Douglas J. Beyond voice: perceptions of gender in male-to-female transsexuals. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012;20(3):165-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MOO.0b013e3283530f85. PMid:22487788.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MOO.0b013e3283...
).

Trans men are people who claim social and legal recognition as men, with some also calling themselves trans-men, or female-to-male (FtM)(33 Jesus JG. Orientações sobre a população transgênero: conceitos e termos. Brasília: Autor, 2012.). Generally, in vocal changes, they benefit from hormonal treatment, requiring fewer strategies, such as surgery or speech therapy.

Trans women are people who claim social and legal recognition as women, or trans-women, or male-to-female (MtF)(33 Jesus JG. Orientações sobre a população transgênero: conceitos e termos. Brasília: Autor, 2012.). In these cases, obtaining a female voice is a highly desirable goal, but difficult to be achieved, in most cases, depending a lot on the beginning of the transition process, because the closer to the vocal change process, the better the results will be(77 Gorham-Rowan M, Morris R. Aerodynamic analysis of male-to-female transgender voice. J Voice. 2006;20(2):251-62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2005.03.004. PMid:16112545.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2005....
). Strategies such as intonation, articulation, and language can assist in this process of vocal construction, both for trans men and for trans women(88 Van Borsel J, Cayzeele M, Heirman E, T’sjoen G. Conversational topics in transsexual persons. Clin Linguist Phon. 2014;28(6):428-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2013.875594. PMid:24446798.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699206.2013....
,99 Hancock A, Colton G, Douglas F. Intonation and gender perception: applications for transgender speakers. J Voice. 2014;28(2):203-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2013.08.009. PMid:24094799.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2013....
).

Historically, due to the population's health needs, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences have sought to expand its forms of care, modifying the practices that had biomedical bases, in which only the disease and individual rehabilitation were valued, for a practice of approximation between Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and the ideals of Health Education, considering health as a right of all and giving functionality to the principles of universality and equity of the SUS(1010 Dornelas R, Sousa MF, Mendonça AVM. Mendonça. Informação, educação e comunicação em saúde: análise das concepções dos coordenadores das campanhas de voz no Distrito Federal. Rev CEFAC. 2014 Jan-Fev;16(1):274-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216201412212.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620141...
).

Within this conception, the speech therapist must be part of the multidisciplinary team of the transsexualizing process, which focuses on the better quality of life of the trans population, with the voice being an important aspect of the subject's gender perception(1111 Gasparini G, Behlau M. Quality of life: validation of the Brazilian Version of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) measure. J Voice. 2009;23(1):76-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2007.04.005. PMid:17628396.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2007....
). Thus, the present study aimed to analyze the impact of voice on the quality of life of trans people and to relate it to vocal self-perception and gender identity.

METHODS

The observational, cross-sectional and analytical study, of convenience sampling, was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Sergipe (No. 1.313.343). All people who agreed to participate, with prior explanation, signed the Free and Informed Consent Term, according to Resolution 466/2012-CNS/MS.

All users who were waiting for the first service in the waiting room of the Ambulatório Trans de Sergipe were invited to participate: “Open doors - Comprehensive health for trans people: caring and welcoming”, from January to August 2017. People under the age of 18, those who had started the transexualizing process assisted by a health professional, in that service or in another, or who had undergone related surgical procedures, or speech therapy regarding vocal readjustment were excluded from this study.

Thus, 27 people were included, being 17 trans men (male gender) and 10 trans women (female gender), with a mean age of 26.7 (±9.1) years.

The outpatient clinic where the research was carried out is multidisciplinary and offers assistance in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Psychology, Nutrition, Endocrinology, Psychiatry, Gynecology, and Occupational Therapy.

At first, a brief anamnesis was carried out with information regarding name, age, gender and presence, or not, of vocal complaints. Subsequently, three instruments were applied: Voice Quality of Life (VQL), Transgender Voice Questionnaire (TVQMtF) and Voice Disorder Screening Index (VDSI).

The VQL was translated and validated into Brazilian Portuguese by Gasparini and Behlau(1111 Gasparini G, Behlau M. Quality of life: validation of the Brazilian Version of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) measure. J Voice. 2009;23(1):76-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2007.04.005. PMid:17628396.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2007....
) and aims to quantify the impact that a particular vocal change brings to the subject's quality of life(1212 Hogikyan ND, Sethuraman G. Validation of an Instrument to Measure Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL). J Voice. 1999;13(4):557-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0892-1997(99)80010-1. PMid:10622521.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0892-1997(99)...
). It has ten items, distributed in six physical and four socio-emotional questions. Each item can be classified on a five-point scale, where 1 “is not a problem” and 5 “is a very big problem”. The higher the calculated score, the better the subject's quality of life. To calculate the scores, a standard algorithm is used, which can vary from 0 to 100, the latter indicating the best possible quality of life.

The TVQMtF is a self-perception questionnaire, specific to trans people, designed to measure the perception of this population regarding their voice(1313 Dacakis G, Davies S, Oates JM, Douglas JM, Johnston JR. Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-Female Transsexuals. J Voice. 2013;27(3):312-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.005. PMid:23415146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
). This questionnaire, translated and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, consists of 30 items and has a rating scale that ranges from 1 to 4, with 1 = “never or rarely”, 2 = “sometimes”, 3 = “often” and 4 = “usually or always”. The score ranges from 30 to 120, minimum and maximum, respectively(1414 Santos HHANM, Aguiar AGO, Baeck HE, Van Borsel J. Translation and preliminary evaluation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Transgender Voice Questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals. CoDAS. 2015;27(1):89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20152014093. PMid:25885202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2015...
). The higher the score, the worse the perception of the voice itself.

An adapted questionnaire, based on the TVQMtF, was also used. As it is a specific instrument for trans women, there was an adaptation to cover both genders, trans women and men. The adaptation took place, exclusively, with the change of words, terms, and expressions referring excessively to the female gender, in comparison to the male gender, to also include it.

The VDSI is a self-perception instrument, developed and validated by Ghirardi et al.(1515 Ghirardi ACAM, Ferreira LP, Giannini SPP, Latorre MRDO. Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD): development and Validation. J Voice. 2013;27(2):195-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.004. PMid:23280383.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
), composed of 12 common vocal symptoms and has a classification scale divided into “never”, “rarely”, “sometimes” and “always”. For the answers “sometimes” or “always”, 1 point is added. The cut-off score for the presence of a vocal disorder is 5 points.

Excel and SPSS® 16.0 software were used for data analysis. The normality of the data was studied using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, being a parametric sample. To verify the correlation between the results of the total score between the instruments (VDSI, VQL and TVQMtF) and the correlation of age in the results of the instruments, Pearson's bivariate correlation test (r) was used. To compare the means of the instruments applied (VDSI, VQL and TVQMtF) between genders, the Student t-test was used for independent samples. A p value of 5% (p <0.05) was established as statistically significant.

RESULTS

In the initial interview, 26 (96.3%) people reported having a specific vocal complaint. The Student t-test for independent samples did not show significant differences between women and trans men in the responses of the VDSI (p = 0.6), TVQMtF (p = 0.4) and the VQL (p = 0.7) (Table 1).

Table 1
Vocal self-perception in trans men and women

The results regarding the VDSI showed that 12 (44.4%) people presented results suggestive of vocal disorders (final score equal to or greater than 5), with an average of 34.1 (±3.1). The VQL, in the socioemotional domain, presented an average of 60.6 (±25.7) points (90.65 was the best score for this domain) and, in the physical domain, an average of 64.8 (±28.9) points (89.60 was the best score for this domain), indicating greater impairment of socioemotional aspects. In the TVQMtF, the average obtained was 70.6 (±24.7) (minimum response equal to 30 points and maximum 120 points).

Regarding the results of Pearson's bivariate correlation between the results of the VDSI, VQL (physical, emotional and total) and TVQMtF tests, there was a significant strong correlation between the TVQMtF and socio-emotional VQL, between the TVQMtF and physical VQL and between the TVQMtF and total score, indicating that the higher the quality of life in voice, the lower the perception of your own voice.

Table 2 illustrates the average total scores in the VDSI, VQL and TVQMtF tests and the results of Pearson's bivariate correlation between the results of the VDSI, VQL (physical, emotional and total) and TVQMtF tests.

Table 2
Correlation outcomes between the results of the Voice Disorder Screening Index, Voice Quality of Life and the Transgender Voice Questionnaire

DISCUSSION

The present study is relevant so that one can know the vocal self-perception of trans people and, thus, identify possible impacts on the quality of life of this population.

The trans population is mostly composed of trans women, in a proportion of two to one, when compared to trans men. However, in the present study, the majority of the sample was composed of trans men, confirming the findings of a study conducted in Iran, which also obtained a majority belonging to this gender(1616 Saeidzadeh Z. Transsexuality in Contemporary Iran: Legal and Social Misrecognition. Fem Leg Stud. 2016;24(3):249-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10691-016-9332-x.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10691-016-933...
), which may indicate a trend in the increase in the demand for health care by the trans male population(1414 Santos HHANM, Aguiar AGO, Baeck HE, Van Borsel J. Translation and preliminary evaluation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Transgender Voice Questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals. CoDAS. 2015;27(1):89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20152014093. PMid:25885202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2015...
).

Besides, another finding in the same study(1414 Santos HHANM, Aguiar AGO, Baeck HE, Van Borsel J. Translation and preliminary evaluation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Transgender Voice Questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals. CoDAS. 2015;27(1):89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20152014093. PMid:25885202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2015...
), which may indicate a tendency to change the profile of the trans population seeking care, was the average age of the population studied, demonstrating that trans people have sought their rights earlier, for example, the access to health. The average was ten years less than the age found in a study conducted in Spain(1717 Basterra V, Ruiz R, Toni M, Rebolé A, Pérez de Mendiola Y, Forga L. Estudio descriptivo de la transexualidad en Navarra. An Sist Sanit Navar. 2012;35(3):455-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1137-66272012000300011. PMid:23296226.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1137-66272012...
), of 37.3 years. The late demand for health care by this population originates from social stigma and prejudice(1818 Schwarz K, Fontanari AMV, Mueller A, Costa AB, Soll B, da Silva DC, et al. Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-female Brazilian Transsexual People. J Voice. 2017 Jan;31(1):120.e15-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016.02.012. PMid:27146028.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016....
), a trend that may be changing, due to the growing number of political and social movements(1919 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Gestão Estratégica e Participativa. Departamento de Apoio à Gestão Participativa. (2013). Política nacional de saúde integral de lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis e transexuais. 1. ed. Brasília. 32 p.) aimed at empowering trans people(2020 Almeida G, Murta D. Reflexões sobre a possibilidade da despatologização da transexualidade e a necessidade da assistência integral à saúde de transexuais no Brasil. Sex, Salud Soc. 2013;(14):380-407.http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-64872013000200017.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-64872013...
).

In this framework, understanding the complaints and social behaviors related to the voice of trans people is necessary for the planning of health actions aimed at this population. In the present study, almost all participants reported some vocal complaints in the anamnesis. Complaints presented by trans people may or may not be related to sexual reassignment and, when present, may directly influence the psychosocial aspect of the voice(1313 Dacakis G, Davies S, Oates JM, Douglas JM, Johnston JR. Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-Female Transsexuals. J Voice. 2013;27(3):312-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.005. PMid:23415146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
,2121 Dornelas R, Granzotti RBG, Leite AFS, Silva K. A redesignação vocal em pessoas trans. CoDAS. 2017;29(2):e20160168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20172016168. PMid:28300938.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2017...
).

Although VDSI was idealized for use in voice professionals, it was decided to use it in this research, as it is an instrument that investigates the presence of common vocal symptoms in the entire population, namely: hoarseness, voice failure, throat clearing, tiredness when speaking, among others(1515 Ghirardi ACAM, Ferreira LP, Giannini SPP, Latorre MRDO. Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD): development and Validation. J Voice. 2013;27(2):195-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.004. PMid:23280383.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
). In this study, 12 (44.4%) people were at risk for vocal disorder, suggested by a score greater than 5 points(1515 Ghirardi ACAM, Ferreira LP, Giannini SPP, Latorre MRDO. Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD): development and Validation. J Voice. 2013;27(2):195-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.004. PMid:23280383.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
). VDSI has a high degree of sensitivity for mapping voice disorders. Therefore, it is suggested that, if the subject refers to five or more vocal symptoms, he/she should be referred for otorhinolaryngological and speech-language evaluation(1515 Ghirardi ACAM, Ferreira LP, Giannini SPP, Latorre MRDO. Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD): development and Validation. J Voice. 2013;27(2):195-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.004. PMid:23280383.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
).

The appearance of these vocal changes can be justified when considering the voice as an important factor in the perception of gender(1414 Santos HHANM, Aguiar AGO, Baeck HE, Van Borsel J. Translation and preliminary evaluation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Transgender Voice Questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals. CoDAS. 2015;27(1):89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20152014093. PMid:25885202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2015...
), causing trans people to try to model their voice or make spontaneous efforts to adapt it to a social category(2222 Bergel S. Voz do transexual masculino [monografia]. Porto Alegre: Centro de Especialização em Fonoaudiologia Clínica; 1999.,2323 Drumond LB. Fonoaudiologia e transgenitalização: a voz no processo de reelaboração da identidade social do transexual. In: Anais do XV Encontro Nacional da Associação Brasileira de Psicologia Social; 2009, Maceió. Maceió: ABRAPSO; 2009.). This effort in voice production, as well as negative adaptations, can be responsible for dysphonia(2424 Davies J, Anderson S, Huchison L, Stewart G. Interactions between voice clinics and singing teachers: a report on the British Voice Association questionnaire to voice clinics in the UK. Logoped Phoniatr Vocol. 2007;32(2):83-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14015430601114849. PMid:17613790.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14015430601114...
,2525 Silva LP, Gomes AC, Lucena JA, Araújo ANB. Estratégias de enfrentamento da disfonia na perspectiva biopsicossocial. In: Anais do XXIII Congresso Brasileiro e IX Congresso Internacionalde Fonoaudiologia; 2015; Salvador. São Paulo: SBFa; 2015. p. 7-9.).

Regarding the TVQMtF, despite being an instrument created specifically for trans women(1414 Santos HHANM, Aguiar AGO, Baeck HE, Van Borsel J. Translation and preliminary evaluation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Transgender Voice Questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals. CoDAS. 2015;27(1):89-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20152014093. PMid:25885202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2015...
), it was possible to notice that there was no significant difference for the average scores between trans men and women, demonstrating to be a valid instrument for use in both genders, needing only a few adaptations in language.

Vocal assessment is essential in transgender people, mainly employing self-perception instruments, since the voice is related to gender and is directly linked to the quality of life(1313 Dacakis G, Davies S, Oates JM, Douglas JM, Johnston JR. Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-Female Transsexuals. J Voice. 2013;27(3):312-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.005. PMid:23415146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
). The average scores obtained in the application of the TVQMtF, in this study were visibly higher (that is, the vocal self-perception of trans people indicated greater losses for the individual) than those found in another study with Brazilian trans people(1818 Schwarz K, Fontanari AMV, Mueller A, Costa AB, Soll B, da Silva DC, et al. Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-female Brazilian Transsexual People. J Voice. 2017 Jan;31(1):120.e15-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016.02.012. PMid:27146028.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016....
), which concluded that individuals experienced stress due to identifying with the opposite sex, or because they are dissatisfied with their voices. Regarding trans women, it was observed that the longer the presentation time as women, the lower the scores obtained. The authors suggested that the longer the trans experience, the greater the singular construction on the woman she wants to be(1313 Dacakis G, Davies S, Oates JM, Douglas JM, Johnston JR. Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-Female Transsexuals. J Voice. 2013;27(3):312-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.005. PMid:23415146.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012....
).

The quality of life refers to a set of physical, mental and social factors that interfere with a subject's experience. Thus, it is understood that a vocal change can affect the quality of life, depending on the particularities of each subject(2626 Spina AL, Maunsell R, Sandalo K, Gusmão R, Crespo A. Correlação da qualidade de vida e voz com atividade profissional. Rev Bras Otorrinolaringol. 2009;75(2):275-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1808-8694(15)30790-4.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1808-8694(15)...
). The results presented in the VQL, in this research, demonstrated that the voices of the trans population studied have a high negative impact on quality of life, with an average value of 26.1 points for the total score, which is much lower than the cutoff value described in the literature, which pointed out that a total score less than or equal to 60 implies a high impact of the voice on quality of life(2727 Servilha EAM, Roccon PF. Relação entre voz e qualidade de vida em professores universitários. Rev CEFAC. 2009 Jul-Set;11(3):440-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-18462009005000029.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-18462009...
).

The negative impact on the quality of life of the studied population was more evident when the individualized average of the socioemotional and physical domains was observed, which was 9.6 (±4.2) and 16.5 (±5.9), respectively. The stipulated cut-off score is 91.2 points(2828 Behlau M, Madazio G, Moreti F, Oliveira G, Dos Santos LM, Paulinelli BR, et al. Efficiency and cutoff values of self-assessment instruments on the impact of a voice proble. J Voice. 2016 Jul;30(4):506.e9-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2015.05.022. PMid:26168902.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2015....
). Values below it would indicate that the perceived vocal changes impact the quality of life, that is, the present study identified a strong impact on the lives of trans people, due to their voice.

The data observed in this research, regarding the quality of life in voice of the trans population, reinforce the idea of the fundamental importance that the vocal aspects occupy in the transsexualizing process of building a new identity, whether in self-acceptance or the acceptance of the social environment, since the voice must be considered an essential element in the identification of the gender.

When analyzing the results of the VQL assessment with TVQMtF, a strong, negative and significant correlation was found between them. The results showed that the higher the TVQMtF score, the lower the VQL score, that is, the greater the perception of problems measurable by TVQMtF, the worse the voice quality of life. Namely, the greater the perception and sensitivity to vocal problems and their interference in daily activities, the greater the impact on the quality of life of trans people.

The self-perception obtained through the VDSI, however, found no relationship with the VQL. This data may suggest some specific and divergent issues between VDSI and TVQMtF, since VDSI, idealized as a screening tool for vocal disorders, investigates vocal symptoms, especially considering laryngeal lesions, while TVQMtF integrates multidimensional assessment issues of voice and communication, considering identity questions of the trans population.

It is considered, therefore, that the TVQMtF is a questionnaire of vocal self-perception, specific for trans people and, therefore, the findings of this study bring relevant reflections, such as the need to use specific instruments of vocal self-perception, for this population, which consider its singularities related to characteristics and demands regarding gender identity and conduct.

Despite some achievements in the last decade, the trans population still lives with a reality characterized by extreme marginalization and social exclusion, which highlights the need for public policies to invest, consistently and continuously, in tackling stigma and conditions of social exclusion that mark the daily lives of this population. It also reinforces the importance of considering, in the process of building programs and actions, both the capacity of these individuals to act, as well as the contexts of vulnerability and structural problems of the public health network(2929 Monteiro S, Brigeiro M, Barbosa RM. Saúde e direitos da população trans. Cad Saude Publica. 2019;35(4):e00047119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00047119. PMid:30994736.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00047...
).

Considering that the voice is an important aspect in the subject's gender perception and is directly related to people's quality of life, it should be noted that studies like this, which assess the vocal self-perception of trans people - which are still scarce in Brazilian literature - can serve as an important parameter in the evaluation of public policies and in the elaboration of specific protocols aimed at this population.

CONCLUSION

There was a low quality of life in voice in trans people. Thus, the greater the perception of their vocal changes, the worse their quality of life, regardless of the gender to which they identify (female or male) and possible vocal disorders.

  • Study carried out at Curso de Fonoaudiologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe – UFS – Lagarto (SE), Brasil.
  • Funding: None.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    11 May 2020
  • Date of issue
    2020

History

  • Received
    29 May 2019
  • Accepted
    13 Feb 2020
Academia Brasileira de Audiologia Rua Itapeva, 202, conjunto 61, CEP 01332-000, Tel.: (11) 3253-8711, Fax: (11) 3253-8473 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
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