Analysis and Evaluation of a Voice-Training Program in Future Professional Voice Users *†Bernadette Timmermans, †Marc S. De Bodt, †Floris L. Wuyts, and †Paul H. Van de Heyning Brussels and Edegem, Belgium Summary: The goal of this study is to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of a voice-training program. Twenty-three professional voice users received voice training for 2 years and vocal hygiene education for 1 year. The voice- training program consisted of lectures, technical workshops, and vocal coaching. The European Laryngological Society (ELS) protocol, including the Dyspho- nia Severity Index (DSI) and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), was applied before and after, respectively, 9 and 18 months of voice training. A question- naire on daily habits was presented at study onset and after 18 months. The DSI improvement is more significant after 9 months (P  0.005) than it is after 18 months (P  0.2). On the other hand, the perceptual evaluation re- mained unchanged after 9 months, whereas it improved significantly after 18 months. The results of the daily habit questionnaire are disturbing: the prevalence of smoking, vocal abuse, stress, and late meals were not influenced by the lectures and remained high. This study emphasizes the need for a well-organized voice-training program that is most effective after 9 months. Regarding the low effectiveness of the vocal hygiene program, the concept needs revision. Key Words: Voice quality—Vocal hygiene—Outcome—Professional voice users—Voice-training program. Accepted for publication April 26, 2004. From the *Department Rits, Erasmus Institute, Brussels, Bel- gium; †Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Disorders, Univer- sity Hospital Antwerp, UA, Belgium. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Bernadette Timmermans, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Disorders, University Hospital Antwerp, UA, Wilrijkstraat, 10, B-2650 Edegem, Belgium. E-mail: bernadette.timmermans@telenet.be Journal of Voice, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 202–210 0892-1997/$30.00  2005 The Voice Foundation doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2004.04.009 202 INTRODUCTION This study concentrates on the effectiveness of a voice-training program for 23 future professional voice users, such as actors and radio directors. As this population needs a well-functioning voice, but also a resonant and beautiful voice, everybody ex- pects that this category of professional voice users receives voice training. Nevertheless, scientific re- search on the training effect is rare. 1 In a previous study, Timmermans et al 1 assessed 86 voices of future professional voice users by means of the European Laryngological Society protocol