Instructions: These are statements that many people have sued to describe their voices and the effects of their voices on their lives. Circle the response that indicates how frequently you have the same experience. 0 = never 1 = almost never 2 = sometimes 3 = almost always 4 = always
Part I: Functional
F1 My voice makes it difficult for people to hear me
F2 People have difficulty understanding me in a noisy room
F3 My family has difficulty hearing me when I call them throughout the house
F4 I use the phone less often than I would like to
F5 I tend to avoid groups of people because of my voice
F6 I speak with friends‚ neighbours‚ or relatives less often because of my voice
F7 People ask me to repeat myself when speaking face-to-face
F8 My voice difficulties restrict my personal and social life
F9 I feel left out of conversations because of my voice
F10 My voice problem causes me to lose income
Part II: Physical
P1 I run out of air when I talk
P2 The sound of my voice varies throughout the day
P3 People ask ”what‟s wrong with your voice?”
P4 My voice sounds creaky and dry
P5 I feel as though I have to strain to produce voice
P6 The clarity of my voice is unpredictable
P7 I try to change my voice to sound different
P8 I use a great deal of effort to speak
P9 My voice is worse in the evening
P10 My voice “gives out” on me in the middle of speaking
Part III: Emotional
E1 I am tense when talking to others because of my voice
E2 People seem irritated with my voice
E3 I find other people don‟t understand my voice problems
E4 My voice problem upsets me
E5 I am less outgoing because of my voice problem
E6 My voice makes me feel handicapped
E7 I feel annoyed when people ask me to repeat
E8 I feel embarrassed when people ask me to repeat
E9 My voice makes me feel incompetent
E10 I am ashamed of my voice problem
Total score_____/120 n
This instrument can be found pages 51-52 of Compendium of Clinical Measures for Community Rehabilitation‚ available online at: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/qhcrwp/docs/clinical_measure.pdf
0 = never 1 = almost never 2 = sometimes 3 = almost always 4 = always
Jacobson BH 1997‚ „The Voice Handicap Index (VHI): development and validation‟‚ American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology‚ vol. 6‚ no. 3‚ pp. 66-70.