Background:
Voice is central to identity, credibility, and livelihood in vocally intensive professions. For singers, actors, teachers, politicians, media broadcasters, clergy, lawyers, and call-centre professionals, even minor dysphonia can disrupt performance and professional stability. While advances in laryngoscopy and phonosurgery have refined structural outcomes, success in ENT practice continues to be defined largely by anatomical recovery rather than profession-specific functionality. Existing voice-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), such as the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) or Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI), fail to capture the occupational, emotional, and identity-based dimensions unique to diverse professional voice users.

Aim:
To explore and compare the lived experiences, challenges, and recovery expectations of eight professional voice user groups, and to design a new, Profession-Specific Voice PROM that reflects occupational realities and can be integrated into ENT voice care.

Methods:
A qualitative, comparative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and a newly developed Profession-Specific Voice PROM. Participants included singers, actors, teachers, politicians, priests/clergy, media broadcasters (TV anchors and radio jockeys), lawyers, and call-centre professionals. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s framework. PROM items were derived from patient narratives to ensure content validity and clinical relevance.

Results:
Distinct expectations emerged across professions: singers and actors emphasized tonal finesse and artistic expression; teachers prioritized stamina; politicians and broadcasters valued clarity, authority, and rapid recovery; clergy sought ritual resonance and spiritual continuity; lawyers highlighted projection and credibility; call-centre professionals reported fatigue from continuous speaking in poor acoustic environments. Across all groups, dysphonia was perceived as a threat to identity, livelihood, and confidence.

Conclusion:
This is the first comparative qualitative study to design and propose a Profession-Specific Voice PROM incorporating eight vocally demanding occupations. It bridges the gap between stroboscopic recovery and professional performance, offering ENT surgeons a structured, patient-centred framework for individualized counseling, surgical decision-making, and outcome assessment in voice rehabilitation.

Keywords:
professional voice users, phonosurgery, qualitative study, patient-reported outcomes, profession-specific PROM, singers, actors, teachers, politicians, clergy, broadcasters, lawyers, call-centre professionals, ENT practice, voice rehabilitation.