Acoustic Characteristics Of Voice Research Articles

Investigation of Acoustic Voice Characteristics of Individuals Diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia.

Muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is a functional voice condition that causes irregular and imbalanced laryngeal and paralaryngeal muscle activation. Our study aimed to examine the acoustic characteristics of patients with MTD and reveal the differences between genders. The study retrospectively reviewed the acoustic examination findings from the files of patients diagnosed with MTD during evaluations in the laryngology outpatient clinic at a tertiary reference hospital between 2015 and 2022. The parameters assessed in prolonged vowel phonation analysis were fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic-to-ratio, and soft phonation index; in the counting task analysis, they were intensity, frequency, and semitone. Gender differences in acoustic measurements obtained during prolonged vowel phonation and counting tasks were also examined. The study included 80 individuals diagnosed with MTD. Although all parameters in the acoustic analysis of/a/ phonation were increased, differences were statistically significant only in the F0 and jitter parameters between females and males (p≤0.05). In the analysis of the counting task, the mean and minimum F0 parameters were significantly higher in females than in males (p=0.000). The mean dB level was decreased, particularly in the counting task, but the results for the intensity parameter did not differ significantly between genders (p>0.05). The values in the acoustic voice analysis parameters of patients with MTD were determined. These acoustic parameters are thought to guide the clinician in evaluating voice and determining voice therapy goals for MTD patients.

Investigation of Acoustic Voice Characteristics of Individuals Diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia

Investigation of Acoustic Voice Characteristics of Individuals Diagnosed with Muscle Tension Dysphonia

Acoustic Character Governing Variation in Normal, Benign, and Malignant Voices.

Benign and malignant vocal fold lesions (VFLs) are growths that occur on the vocal folds. However, the treatments for these two types of lesions differ significantly. Therefore, it is imperative to use a multidisciplinary approach to properly recognize suspicious lesions. This study aimed to determine the important acoustic characteristics specific to benign and malignant VFLs. The acoustic model of voice quality was utilized to measure various acoustic parameters in 157 participants, including individuals with normal, benign, and malignant conditions. The study comprised 62 female and 95 male participants (43 ± 10 years). Voice samples were collected at the Shanghai Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital of Fudan University between May 2020 and July 2021. The acoustic variables of the participants were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to present important acoustic characteristics that are specific to normal vocal folds, benign VFLs, and malignant VFLs. The similarities and differences in acoustic factors were also studied for benign conditions including Reinke's edema, polyps, cysts, and leukoplakia. Using the PCA method, the components that accounted for the variation in the data were identified, highlighting acoustic characteristics in the normal, benign, and malignant groups. The analysis indicated that coefficients of variation in root mean square energy were observed solely within the normal group. Coefficients of variation in pitch (F0) were found to be significant only in benign voices, while higher formant frequencies and their variability were identified as contributors to the acoustic variance within the malignant group. The presence of formant dispersion (FD) as a weighted factor in PCA was exclusively noted in individuals with Reinke's edema. The amplitude ratio between subharmonics and harmonics (SHR) and its coefficients of variation were evident exclusively in the polyps group. In the case of voices with cysts, both pitch (F0) and coefficients of variation for FD were observed to contribute to variations. Additionally, higher formant frequencies and their coefficients of variation played a role in the acoustic variance among voices of patients with leukoplakia. Experimental evidence demonstrates the utility of the PCA method in the identification of vibrational alterations in the acoustic characteristics of voice affected by lesions. Furthermore, the PCA analysis has highlighted underlying acoustic differences between various conditions such as Reinke's edema, polyps, cysts, and leukoplakia. These findings can be used in the future to develop an automated malignant voice analysis algorithm, which will facilitate timely intervention and management of vocal fold conditions.

Voice acoustic characteristics of children with late-onset cochlear implantation: Correlation to auditory performance

Objectives To study the voice acoustic parameters of congenitally deaf children with delayed access to sounds due to late-onset cochlear implantation and to correlate their voice characteristics with their auditory performance. Methods The study included 84 children: a control group consisting of 50 children with normal hearing and normal speech development; and a study group consisting of 34 paediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients who had suffered profound hearing loss since birth. According to speech recognition scores and pure-tone thresholds, the study group was further subdivided into two subgroups: 24 children with excellent auditory performance and 10 children with fair auditory performance. The mean age at the time of implantation was 3.6 years for excellent auditory performance group and 3.2 years for fair auditory performance group. Voice acoustic analysis was conducted on all study participants. Results Analysis of voice acoustic parameters revealed a statistically significant delay in both study groups in comparison to the control group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two study groups. Discussion Interestingly, in both excellent and fair performance study groups, the gap in comparison to normal hearing children was still present. While late-implanted children performed better on segmental perception (e.g. word recognition), suprasegmental perception (e.g. as demonstrated by objective acoustic voice analysis) did not progress to the same extent. Conclusion On the suprasegmental speech performance level, objective acoustic voice measurements demonstrated a significant delay in the suprasegmental speech performance of children with late-onset CI, even those with excellent auditory performance.

Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Teachers and Nonteachers.

Teachers are professional voice users, and the vocal demands in the teaching profession can be considered unique. All teachers will wish to possess a voluminous, strongly-carrying voice that can be maintained for a prolonged time. This necessitated the need to understand and document the voice-acoustic characteristics of teachers. The specific objectives were to (a) investigate the acoustic characteristics of teachers' voices, (b) compare voice acoustic characteristics between female and male teachers, and (c) compare acoustic characteristics of voice between teachers and nonteachers. Four hundred thirty-nine individuals congregated into two groups. Group 1 had 264 female teachers (mean age: 36.8 years) and 42 male teachers (mean age 36.8 years) with a minimum of 5 years of teaching experience. A hundred females (mean age: 37.3 years) and 33 males (mean age: 36.1 years) adults not indulging in additional, prolonged use of voice were in group 2. Sustenance of vowel /a/ for 3seconds at a comfortable pitch and loudness followed by a monologue on "My school" for 1minute were audio-recorded at the locations of the participants. Multidimensional Voice Profiles and Real Time Pitch were used to analyze the phonation and monologue samples, respectively. Revealed that most F0 and its related measures, short- and long-term frequency perturbations were higher in female compared to the male participants. The majority of the acoustic parameters were higher in teachers compared to nonteachers of both sexes. The results, in general, confirmed a few evinced findings in females and males, strengthening the nature-controlled biophysical influence on voice. A few acoustic measures discerned voices of teachers and nonteachers and also females and males in teachers. Nonteachers of both sexes showed better acoustic characteristics of voice against teachers signifying that the extended and prolonged voice use, an occupational demand of the teaching profession, led to vocal loading affecting the acoustic characteristics of teachers' voices.

АКУСТИЧКЕ КАРАКТЕРИСТИКЕ ГЛАСА И ГОВОРА ОДРАСЛИХ ОСОБА СА АТАКСИЧНОМ ДИЗАРТРИЈОМ

The aim of this study was to determine the acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in adults with ataxic dysarthria, and to examine the extent to which they differ from those of typical speakers. The sample consisted of 30 patients with ataxic dysarthria, ages 21 through 82 (M = 56.07). Using the computer programme for multidimensional voice analysis (MDVP), the individual values of 10 acoustic voice parameters were determined for each sex. Additionally, the programme provided the frequency values of the first two formants for all five vowels of the Serbian language, based on the participants’ reading of the Balanced Text. The results of the analysis showed statistically significant differences in the values of the acoustic parameters between the participants with ataxic dysarthria and the reference values valid for typical speakers, which were generated by the MDVP. These differences were observed in parameters indicating voice frequency variability (F0, Fhi, Flo, STD, Jitt, vF0), voice intensity variability (Shim and vAm), and the presence of voice interruptions (DVB) and voiceless periods (DUV). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found between participants with ataxic dysarthria and typical speakers in the second formant (F2) of the vowels /E/ (p <0.01), /I/ (p <0.01), and /U/ (p <0.05). The significant deviations from the norms applicable to typical speakers indicate the substantial changes present in the voice and speech of individuals with ataxic dysarthria.

Comparative Study on the Acoustic Analysis of Voice in Auditory Brainstem Implantees, Cochlear Implantees, and Normal Hearing Children.

The aim of the study was to compare the acoustic characteristics of voice between Auditory Brainstem Implantees, Cochlear Implantees and normal hearing children. Voice parameters such as fundamental frequency, formant frequencies, perturbation measures, and harmonic to noise ratio were measured in a total of 30 children out of which 10 were Auditory Brainstem Implantees, 10 were Cochlear Implantees and 10 were normal hearing children. Parametric and nonparametric statistics were done to establish the nature of significance between the three groups. Overall deviancies were seen in the implanted group for all acoustic parameters. However abnormal deviations were seen in individuals with Auditory Brainstem Implants indicating the deficit in the feedback loop impacting the voice characteristics. The deviancy in feedback could attribute to the poor performance in ABI and CI. The CI performed comparatively better when compared to the ABI group indicating a slight feedback loop due to the type of Implant. However, there needs to be additional evidence supporting this and there is a need to carry out the same study using a larger sample size and a longitudinal design.

Correlation Between Auditory-Perceptual Parameters and Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Theater Actors

Background: Theater actors are a subgroup of professional voice users who may present their performances at a high-pressure vocal demand, like loud talking, shouting, or even stage singing. Disturbances in auditory-perceptual or acoustic parameters of voice are commonly experienced by theater actors and are known as a frequent occupational hazard for them. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between auditory-perceptual and acoustic parameters of the voice in Iranian theater actors. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 45 Iranian theater actors, including 22 females and 23 males, with a mean age of 30.76 ± 7 years. The auditory-perceptual evaluation was performed using the Persian version of the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V). Acoustic characteristics, including mean fundamental frequency (F0), local shimmer, local jitter, and harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), were extracted from the subjects’ “speech sample.” Correlation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the measures of auditory-perceptual and acoustic voice characteristics. Results: The overall auditory-perceptual severity was negatively correlated with mean F0 (r = -0.592, P < 0.05) and HNR (r = - 0.324, P < 0.05). Roughness was also negatively correlated with voice mean F0 (r = -0.629, P < 0.05) and HNR (r = -0.322, P < 0.05) and positively correlated with voice local jitter (r = 0.310, P < 0.05). We also found that pitch was negatively correlated with voice mean F0 (r = -0.309, P < 0.05) and positively correlated with voice local jitter (r = 0.292, P = 0.050). Conclusions: Acoustic measures, including F0, HNR, and jitter, correlate with auditory perceptual parameters of the voice quality in Iranian theater actors. These findings highlight the significance of acoustic parameters in assessing voice quality in professional voice users such as theater actors.

Correlations Between Positive or Negative Utterances and Basic Acoustic Features of Voice: a Preliminary Analysis

The major aim of this paper is to establish possible correlations between continuous sentiment scores and four basic acoustic characteristics of voice. In order to achieve this objective, the text of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens was tokenized at the sentence level. Next, each of the resulting text units was assessed in terms of sentiment polarity and aligned with the corresponding fragment in an audiobook. The results indicate weak but statistically significant correlations between sentiment scores and three acoustic features: the mean F0, the standard deviation of F0 and the mean intensity. These findings may be useful in selecting optimal acoustic features for model training in multimodal sentiment analysis. Also, they are essential from a linguistic point of view and could be applied in studies on such language phenomena as irony.

Analyzing Acoustic Characteristics of Voice for Children With Cleft Palate With and Without Compensatory Error Compared to Normal Children

Background and Objectives: Voice assessment is one of the five universal parameters in assessing the speech ability of children with cleft palate. One of the characteristics of cleft palate children is the production of compensatory errors. This study aims to compare the acoustic characteristics of the voice, including fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and average harmonic to noise ratio in cleft palate children compared to their normal peers. Methods: A total of 38 children in the age range of 48 to 60 months (17 children with cleft palate and 21 normal peers) participated in this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. The children were asked to produce sustained vowels /a/ and /i/ while their speech samples were being recorded. The acoustic characteristics of the children’s voices were analyzed via the Praat software. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in acoustic parameters between the cleft palate children with and without compensatory errors. There were significant differences between children with cleft palate compared to their normal peers in the jitter averages of the vowel /a/ (P=0.05). The gender differences were found in the harmonic to noise ratio averages of the vowel /a/ between children with cleft palate (P=0.02). Conclusion: Young children with velopharyngeal insufficiency may be at risk of voice problems.

Searching for Best Predictors of Paralinguistic Comprehension and Production of Emotions in Communication in Adults With Moderate Intellectual Disability.

Paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication include the skills of recognizing and interpreting emotional states with the help of facial expressions, prosody and intonation. In the relevant scientific literature, the skills of paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication are related primarily to receptive language abilities, although some authors found also their correlations with intellectual abilities and acoustic features of the voice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate which of the mentioned variables (receptive language ability, acoustic features of voice, intellectual ability, social-demographic), presents the most relevant predictor of paralinguistic comprehension and paralinguistic production of emotions in communication in adults with moderate intellectual disabilities (MID). The sample included 41 adults with MID, 20–49 years of age (M = 34.34, SD = 7.809), 29 of whom had MID of unknown etiology, while 12 had Down syndrome. All participants are native speakers of Serbian. Two subscales from The Assessment Battery for Communication – Paralinguistic comprehension of emotions in communication and Paralinguistic production of emotions in communication, were used to assess the examinees from the aspect of paralinguistic comprehension and production skills. For the graduation of examinees from the aspect of assumed predictor variables, the following instruments were used: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to assess receptive language abilities, Computerized Speech Lab (“Kay Elemetrics” Corp., model 4300) was used to assess acoustic features of voice, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices were used to assess intellectual ability. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to investigate to which extent the proposed variables present an actual predictor variables for paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication as dependent variables. The results of this analysis showed that only receptive language skills had statistically significant predictive value for paralinguistic comprehension of emotions (β = 0.468, t = 2.236, p < 0.05), while the factor related to voice frequency and interruptions, form the domain of acoustic voice characteristics, displays predictive value for paralinguistic production of emotions (β = 0.280, t = 2.076, p < 0.05). Consequently, this study, in the adult population with MID, evidenced a greater importance of voice and language in relation to intellectual abilities in understanding and producing emotions.

Acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in Arabic-speaking stuttering children

BackgroundUsing different methodologies, several researchers have reported certain acoustical and physiological differences between fluent utterances of stutterers and normally fluent speakers. The aim of this study was to determine acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in Arabic-speaking stuttering children in comparison to normal children and correlate these characteristics with stuttering severity. A sample of 80 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children (including 40 typically developing children and 40 stuttering children) in the age range 5–8 years were subjected to acoustic analysis of voice and speech using the Praat software.ResultsThe stuttering children showed significantly higher values of jitter and shimmer in prolonged /a/ vowel sample, as compared to the normal group. This may reflect the subtle differences in laryngeal functioning or in the complex interaction among the laryngeal, respiratory, and the vocal tract systems in stuttering children. Both jitter and shimmer of prolonged /a/ vowel demonstrated significant positive moderate correlation with stuttering severity as assessed by SSI3. F0 was significantly higher in females than in males, both in normal and stuttering children.ConclusionsThe present study revealed significant differences in the acoustic parameters of voice and speech between Arabic-speaking stuttering children and normal children. Some of these acoustic parameters were significantly correlated with stuttering severity. Acoustic analysis can be used as simple, quick, and cheap tool for assessment of stuttering in children and might be a valuable addition to the diagnostic set for assessment of stuttering severity.

Investigating the Effects of Warm-up Exercises on Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Female Gym Coaches

<h2>SUMMARY</h2><h3>Introduction</h3> A plethora of vocal enhancement and rehabilitation programs for voice professionals define vocal exercises irrespective of analyzing their effects on the specific population on which they are applied, in the established dose and often without considering the presence and absence of vocal alteration. So, in this study we investigated the impact of warm-up exercises (WUE) on the acoustic features of the gym coaches. <h3>Objective</h3> To determine the effectiveness of WUE on the acoustic characteristics of the voice in gym coaches. <h3>Study design</h3> This was a Quasi-experimental control group design study. <h3>Method</h3> The study was carried out through participation of forty-five female gym coaches with a mean age of 31.4 years (range: 19–44 years) in Mashhad gym salon. Participants were recruited into two conditions. In the first condition, participants did not receive the exercises for a week and were acoustically evaluated at the beginning and end of the week. In the second condition, participants received the exercises once a day for a week and were acoustically evaluated at the beginning and end of the week. Voice samples were included: at least 3 vowels / a / for at least five seconds. The voice samples analyzed by the Praat software recorder (Version 6.0.23) were collected to detect the acoustic characteristics of voice including fundamental frequency (f₀) (Hz), jitter (%), shimmer (dB) and noise to harmonic ratio (NHR) (dB). Finally, the data obtained from these two condition were compared. <h3>Results</h3> After WUE, a significant increased f₀, decreased jitter, decreased shimmer and decreased NHR were measured. (p-value < 0.005). <h3>Conclusion</h3> The WUE had an immediate positive effect on acoustic characteristics of voice)f0, jitter, shimmer and NHR(in the short term and this study suggests that the WUE is an effective technique for enhancing the overall voice quality of gym coaches.

A Cross-sectional Study of Perceptual and Acoustic Voice Characteristics in Healthy Aging

The human voice qualitatively changes across the lifespan. Although some of these vocal changes may be pathologic, other changes likely reflect natural physiological aging. Normative data for voice characteristics in healthy aging is limited and disparate studies have used a range of different acoustic features, some of which are implicated in pathologic voice changes. We examined the perceptual and acoustic features that predict healthy aging. Participants (N = 150) aged between 50 and 92 years performed a sustained vowel task. Acoustic features were measured using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program and the Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice. We used forward and backward variable elimination techniques based on the Bayesian information criterion and linear regression to assess which of these acoustic features predict age and perceptual features. Hearing thresholds were determined using pure-tone audiometry tests at frequencies 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz. We further explored potential relationships between these acoustic features and clinical assessments of voice quality using the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice. Chronological age was significantly predicted by greater voice turbulence, variability of cepstral fundamental frequency, low relative to high spectral energy, and cepstral intensity. When controlling for hearing loss, age was significantly predicted by amplitude perturbations and cepstral intensity. Clinical assessments of voice indicated perceptual characteristics of speech were predicted by different acoustic features. For example, breathiness was predicted by the soft phonation index, mean cepstral peak prominence, mean low-high spectral ratio, and mean cepstral intensity. Findings suggest that acoustic features that predict healthy aging are different than those previously reported for the pathologic voice. We propose a model of healthy and pathologic voice development in which voice characteristics are mediated by the inability to monitor vocal productions associated with age-related hearing loss. This normative data of healthy vocal aging may assist in separating voice pathologies from healthy aging.

Investigating the cepstral acoustic characteristics of voice in healthy children

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the cepstral acoustic parameters that vary depending on age and gender in vocally healthy children, and to establish normative data for cepstral analysis. BackgroundCepstral measurements are among the strongest predictors of auditory-perceptual evaluation of voice and differentiate between healthy and dysphonic voices. More spesificially, ceptral peak prominence is accepted to be as a strong acoustic predictor of breathiness and overall severity of dysphonia. Cepstral measures determine voice quality reliably not only in sustained vowel samples but also in running speech samples. Determining the parameters related to the acoustic profile of children with normal voices can lead us to a better understanding of the effect of changes in the larynx and vocal fold structure during growth and development. There is a limited number of norm studies examining the cepstral acoustic properties of pediatric voice. Determining norm-specific values and clinical guidelines of cepstral acoustics according to the age and gender in vocally healthy children are utmost important. MethodsA total of 160 vocally healthy children were divided into the following four age groups: Group-I included children within the age range of 4–7 years, Group-II included 7–11 years, Group-III 11–14 years, and Group-IV included children within the age range of 14–18 years. An equal number of male and female participants were assigned to each group. PENTAX Medical CSL Model 4500 was used for recording all tasks. For acoustic analysis, Multi-Dimensional Voice Program and Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice were used. ResultsCepstral Peak Prominence (CPP), Cepstral Peak Prominence Standard Deviation (CPP SD), and Low-To-High Spectral Ratio (L/H Ratio) increased with age. It is found that the CPP parameter of all-voiced sentences and nasal-weighted sentences increased with age in boys, while no significant pattern was observed in any sample for girls. For L/H ratio, it can be said that there is a general increase with age in all speech samples, except for the vowel-weighted and voiceless plosive sentence samples, evident especially in the group above the age of 15 years. This study concluded that the CPP SD parameter in the vowel-weighted sentences increased with age in boys. It was also noticed in this study that CPP F0 standard deviation (SD) intervals were narrower in vowel-weighted, easy onset, and voiceless plosive sentence samples than in all-voiced, hard glottal attack and nasal-weighted sentence samples. ConclusionThis study established cepstral acoustic normative values for a wide age range of the pediatric population. It is thought that age and gender specific cepstral acoustic findings presented in this study contributed to the related literature. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first study that provides a normative cepstral acoustic database of the CAPE-V/Turkish sentences in the pediatric population.

Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

PurposeTo investigate the multifactorial effects of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) on subjects’ voices by examining correlations between laboratory investigations, respiratory function, and acoustic voice parameters.MethodsThis case–control study was conducted on 60 participants aged 18−50 years, divided equally into three groups: controls (no health problems or voice disorders), cCKD (stage 3–5, no HD HD]), HD, and CKD stage 5. The study took 21 months. All participants underwent general and otolaryngological examinations, followed by laboratory investigations (hemoglobin, uric acid, HCO3, estimated glomerular filtration rate, urea, urea-reduction ratio, and creatinine), respiratory function tests, and acoustic voice analysis.ResultsThere were significant differences between the control and HD groups for jitter, shimmer, and harmonic:noise (HNR) ratio (P=0 and between the control and CKD groups for shimmer and HNR (P=0), with no significant difference between HD and CKD. There were statistically significant correlations between duration of HD and HNR, jitter percentage, and shimmer percentage (P=0.ConclusionSystemic effects of CKD and HD were found to impair the acoustic characteristics of voice in both groups. Regression analysis revealed that hemoglobin, uric acid, and expiratory time were the most significant predictors of impaired acoustic characteristics.

Characteristics of Speech and Voice as Predictors of the Quality of Communication in Adults with Hypokinetic Dysarthria

Abstract Hypokinetic dysarthria is characterized by a speech that gradually becomes monotonous, poorly modulated, quiet and ultimately unintelligible. The goal of this research is to determine the acoustic characteristics of voice and speech in adults with hypokinetic dysarthria and the impact of the altered voice on the quality of communication. The sample consisted of 30 elderly respondents of both genders with Parkinson’s disease and hypokinetic dysarthria. In order to conduct a spectral analysis, the voice of patients was recorded while they were reading phonetically balanced text. The respondents conducted a self-assessment of the degree of their own handicap caused by voice disorder and impact of the voice handicap by completing the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Statistically significant differences were determined in the position of some formants in respondents compared to the values of formants in typical speakers for the following vowels: F1 of the vowel /I/ and F2 of the vowels /E/, /I/, /O/ and /U/. By examining the relation between the score achieved on the VHI instrument and the value of formants, the only statistically significant correlation was achieved between the formant F1 of the vowel /A/ and functional and emotional subscale. By regression analysis used to determine the predictor of the quality of communication, it was confirmed that F1 of the vowel /A/ has a statistically significant contribution to the explanation of the score achieved on functional and emotional subscale, by explaining 15% of the functional subscale (Beta=-0,393 (11,30 – 47,37)) and 10% of the emotional subscale (Beta=-0,363 (-0,052 – 0,000)).

The Effect of Bimaxillary Orthognathic Surgery on Voice Characteristics in Skeletal Class 3 Deformity Patients: An Evaluation Using Acoustic Analysis.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery on the acoustic voice characteristics of skeletal class 3 patients. All healthy nonsyndromic patients with Class 3 deformity who were eligible for bimaxillary orthognathic surgery, were included in this before and after quasi-experimental study. This experiment's main intervention was mandibular setback surgery by bilateral sagittal split osteotomy plus maxillary advancement using LeFort 1 osteotomy. Age, sex, and intraoperative jaw movements were recorded. Acoustic analysis of voice samples (vowels /a/ and /i/) was performed with Praat software as outcome variables. The formant frequencies (F0, F1, F2, and F3) of these vowels were extracted 1 week preoperatively (T0), 1 and 6 months (T1, T2) postoperatively by a speech therapist. The significance level was set at 0.05 using SPSS 19. The study sample comprised 20 patients including 11 women (55%) and 9 men (45%) with a mean age of 31.95 ± 4.72 years. The average mandibular setback and maxillary advancement were 3.30 ± 0.86 and 2.85 ± 0.74 mm, respectively. The fundamental frequency (F0) and the first, second, and third formants (F1, F2, F3) of vowels /i/ and /a/ were significantly decreased over time intervals, postoperatively (P < 0.05). The finding revealed that bimaxillary orthognathic surgery (maxillary advancement and mandibular setback with bilateral sagittal split osteotomy) might reduce the acoustic formant parameters of voice to the normal frequency ranges, in patients with class 3 skeletal deformities. More clinical trials with greater sample sizes and long-term follow-ups are suggested in the future.

Acoustic voice characteristics with and without wearing a facemask

Facemasks are essential for healthcare workers but characteristics of the voice whilst wearing this personal protective equipment are not well understood. In the present study, we compared acoustic voice measures in recordings of sixteen adults producing standardised vocal tasks with and without wearing either a surgical mask or a KN95 mask. Data were analysed for mean spectral levels at 0–1 kHz and 1–8 kHz regions, an energy ratio between 0–1 and 1–8 kHz (LH1000), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS), and vocal intensity. In connected speech there was significant attenuation of mean spectral level at 1–8 kHz region and there was no significant change in this measure at 0–1 kHz. Mean spectral levels of vowel did not change significantly in mask-wearing conditions. LH1000 for connected speech significantly increased whilst wearing either a surgical mask or KN95 mask but no significant change in this measure was found for vowel. HNR was higher in the mask-wearing conditions than the no-mask condition. CPPS and vocal intensity did not change in mask-wearing conditions. These findings implied an attenuation effects of wearing these types of masks on the voice spectra with surgical mask showing less impact than the KN95.

Effects of vocal nodules on acoustic characteristics of voice in children : an acoustic analysis of voice.

Objective : In the present study, an attempt was made to evaluate the acoustic characteristics of voice in pediatric patients with vocal nodules using acoustic analysis of voice. Methods : Thirty-five pediatric patients with vocal nodules and 32 control children without dysphonia were enrolled in this study. Their voice samples were analyzed using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program. Acoustic parameters of voice, such as pitch period perturbation quotient (PPQ), amplitude perturbation quotient (APQ), and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), were measured. Results : In phonation at a loudness of over 80 dBA, the PPQ, APQ, and NHR values of the voice significantly increased in children with vocal nodules than in the control children without dysphonia. The sensitivities and specificities of PPQ, APQ, and NHR for prediction of vocal nodules in children were 62.86% and 84.38%, 74.29% and 75.00%, and 31.43% and 93.75%, respectively. Discussion : The present findings suggest that vocal nodules affect vocal fold vibration, resulting in impaired control of pitch and loudness leading to increased noise components. NHR could be used to evaluate the efficacy of treatment, such as voice rehabilitation, in pediatric patients with vocal nodules because of its high specificity for prediction of vocal nodules in children. J. Med. Invest. 68 : 276-279, August, 2021.