| Sumario: | Purpose: To determine whether experienced and inexperienced listeners rate postthyroidectomy voice samples similarly using the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V). Method: Prospective observational study of voice quality ratings of randomized and blinded voice samples was performed. Twenty-one postthyroidectomy patientsf voices, representing a wide range of severities, were rated using a custom-automated version of the CAPE-V. Ten male and 11 female voices were rated by 10 experienced and 10 inexperienced listeners. Experienced listeners consisted of 5 otolaryngologists (ENTs) and 5 speech-language pathologists (SLPs); inexperienced listeners were medical professionals with no formal training or experience in voice disorders. Results: Inexperienced listeners rated voices as more severely impaired than experienced listeners for all CAPE-V parameters (p . .003). Those without experience in voice disorders had lower intra- and interrater reliability (e.g., r = .838 and .528, respectively, for overall severity) than those with experience in voice disorders (e.g., r = .911 and .722, respectively, for overall severity) for all parameters. Among experienced listeners, ENTs and SLPs rated voices similarly for most parameters. Conclusions: Experienced and inexperienced listeners judged voice quality differently given minimal training with the use of the CAPE-V. SLPs and ENTs rated postthyroidectomy voice quality similarly. These findings indicate that the CAPE-V can be used reliably and similarly by professionals who specialize in voice disorders.
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