Incidence of chronic hoarseness among school-age children.

A speech and voice screening of a kindergarten through eight grade Hebrew day school indicated that: (1) 38 (23.4%) of the 162 children in the school exhibited chronic hoarseness, (2) the incidence was higher in the primary grades, and (3) more boys than girls exhibited the disorder. Vocal nodules were diagnosed in 77.7& of the children examined by otolaryngologists. The findings of this and other recent studies indicate that a large number of school-age children, particularly those in the primary grades, exhibit chronic hoarseness. Futhermore, many such children may be expected to have vocal nodules.