Vocal level and vocal effort variability across phrase types

Abstract

Vocal effort is the most common symptom that in patients with voice disorders and decreasing vocal effort is often a therapeutic goal. Previous studies indicate that a vocal effort goal can elicit voice production with very similar acoustic parameters. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effort and acoustic parameter dependencies on different types of phrases elicited with different goals. Three types of speech (automatic, read, structured spontaneous) were elicited at using three communication goals (confidential, conversational, raised) with vocal effort quantified using a Borg CR100 scale. Participants’ vocal level reliably changed between the three elicited communication goals. Further, there was some trending differences depending on the length and type of speech. Further details will be presented. The results indicate the utility of the Borg CR100 in tracking effort in voice production that is repeatable with respect to vocal level (dB). Additional acoustic parameters as well as speech differences will be discussed.