By JENNY DERRINGER

derringer@crescent-news.com

In a room full of 20 people or more, being heard can be a chore, especially in a classroom of students.

Talking extensively all day can eventually take its toll on a teacher's important asset -- one's voice. Projecting loudly enough to be heard in a classroom, gymnasium or playing field can cause what doctors call vocal abuse.

When misuse of one's voice occurs, damage to the vocal cords can take place, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), causing temporary or permanent voice changes including laryngitis, vocal nodules, vocal polyps and contact ulcers. The NIDCD suggests seeing a doctor or otolaryngologist if a vocal change or hoarseness lasts for more than two weeks.

The Voice Academy, a virtual school for the vocal health of U.S. teachers, noted that 20 percent of teachers have missed work due to voice problems. This compares with only 4 percent of nonteaching professionals.

To take a simple quiz to determine if voice issues are a problem with you, visit Voice Academy's website at www.uiowa.edu/~shcvoice/ and click on the "How's your vocal health?" icon. The quiz asks questions on water and caffeinated beverage intake and voice projection problems. The Voice Academy is a website of the National Center for Voice and Speech.

Suggestions by the NIDCD include limiting intake of alcohol and caffeine, increasing water consumption and avoiding cigarette smoke. Teachers may also want to use a microphone and amplification system to reduce vocal strain.

A study conducted by the National Diffusion Network, the Mainstream Amplification Resource Room Study (MARRS), showed that use of amplification equipment would reduce the number of teacher sick days and save districts substitute teacher pay. The study was done in Iowa.

"There are certain times of the year where I am using my voice more than I probably should," said Eric West, choir director at Defiance High School. "Music teachers are constantly speaking instructions to their groups and usually while the groups are performing, which means we have to talk over anywhere from 40-90 students singing or playing an instrument. But I believe any teacher could experience problems or difficulties because you're speaking, sometimes very loudly, all day."

West offers suggestions to fellow teachers for keeping their voices in good working order.

"Try not to yell. If you have to, support your voice from your diaphragm muscle and not from your neck," he explained. "I have gotten more success out of my classes and they are more attentive when they realize that I'm not going to yell at or over them.

"Also, keep yourself hydrated," he added. "Lots of water keeps your voice from drying out and getting fatigued easily. Avoid caffeine if you can."

Jody Lewis, choir director at Defiance Junior High School, has a microphone and speaker system that she uses on a regular basis for her choir classes. Teaching two choirs and three general music classes, she can have up to 64 students at one time in her room.

"A lot has to do with me modeling (singing notes) for them," said Lewis. The strain comes from trying to talk to the students and modeling the music.

Deb Dunbar, a retired third-grade teacher from Northeastern Local Schools, used a microphone one year when she had a student with hearing problems.

"I loved it when I had one," said Dunbar. "You absolutely never needed to talk loudly. The child that had the hearing trouble sat close to the speaker, but all the other kids could hear better as well."