Which instrument uses a visual-analog scale to rate overall severity and related attributes such as roughness, breathiness, and strain?

• A. CAPE-V and GRBAS
• B. CAPE-V
• C. Voice Handicap Index
• D. CAPE-V

Answer: (D)

Evaluating voice quality with a visual-analog scale means rating each aspect on a continuous line rather than in fixed categories. CAPE-V uses this approach: listeners mark on a 100-mm line how severe the overall voice disorder is, and also rate attributes such as roughness, breathiness, and strain on their own visual-analog scales. This setup gives a precise, gradated measure, which helps capture subtle differences between samples and supports consistency across raters when standardized procedures and anchors are provided.

In contrast, the Voice Handicap Index is a self-report questionnaire about how a voice problem affects daily life, not a clinician-rated perceptual judgment on a visual line. GRBAS uses discrete category ratings (typically 0–3) rather than a continuous visual-analog scale, so it doesn’t match the description of using a visual-analog line for both overall severity and specific attributes. Therefore, the instrument that fits the description is CAPE-V.