The objective of this study is to compare the vocal self-assessment of transsexual women, by means of a questionnaire, before and after the speech-language pathology intervention. This was a retrospective study with a questionnaire of 17 patients who voluntarily agreed to undergo speech therapy.
The instrument chosen was the Transexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ: MtF), which presents 30 closed questions, in which the patient answers items related to the impacts of the quality of her voice on daily life. The TVQ:MtF is validated as a consistent and reliable instrument, and is therefore indicated for clinical use and in research for self-assessment of male-to-female transsexual patients in this case. Seventeen transsexual women answered the questionnaire before and after the intervention with 10 speech-language pathology sessions held once a week lasting 50 minutes.
Individual results in each application of the TVQ questionnaire can range from 30 points (low negative impact of voice) to 120 points (high negative impact of voice).
Before the speech-language pathology intervention, the mean score was 83 points. After the intervention, the average score was 66 points. There were 17 points.
The 30 questions of the questionnaire can be categorized into three aspects: anxiety and avoidance (11 questions), vocal identity (8 questions) and vocal function (11 questions). In all three aspects there were favorable results. The aspects that showed the most difference before and after the speech-language pathology intervention were those related to anxiety and avoidance (they decreased by an average of 7 points after therapy). Vocal Identity improved by 5 points, as did vocal function, which also had a 5-point improvement on average.
The mean age of the women was 34 years (range 20 to 51 years).
Considering that the lower the score, the lower the disorders and negative impacts in relation to voice, these results contribute to evidence the objective and striking benefits of speech therapy in the vocal self-assessment of trans women.