PURPOSE: to evaluate the presence of respiratory dyspnea during physical activity, speech and its association. METHOD: the target population consisted of 24 patients with prior asthma medical diagnosis, allergic rhinitis and oral breathing, where we orally applied in each individual the Dyspnea Questionnaire translated by Cukier (1998), composed of 30 questions that allowed quantification of dyspnea activities in speech, physical and associates. RESULTS: the analysis of the questionnaire showed higher respiratory complaints during the performance of physical activity associated with speech, followed by individual physical activities. CONCLUSIONS: the major respiratory symptoms were found in physical activity associated with speech, followed by physical activity per se. Already in communicative activities, only activities that required more vocal intensity were reported to be hampered by some subjects.