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DescritoresThe vocal deviation from the vowel /ε/ was evaluated by consensus between three speech language pathologists, using a Visual Analog Scale. We extracted the mean and standard deviation (SD) of the fundamental frequency (F 0 ), jitter, shimmer, and Glottal-to-Noise Excitation Ratio (GNE). Results: Mean F 0 was negatively correlated with the degree of roughness and positively with the degree of tension. The F 0 SD was positively correlated with the overall, roughness, tension, and instability grades. The jitter and shimmer were positively correlated with all perceptual parameters. Only the GNE distinguished between healthy and dysphonic voices and rated the degree of breathiness. The shimmer separated rough voices from not rough voices. The mean F 0 was helpful to determine the degree of phonatory tension and to separate rough voices from breathy and strained voices. Conclusion:There is a correlation between the acoustic and auditory perceptual measures. The shimmer, the GNE, and F 0 SD can be used to detect roughness, breathing, and strain, respectively. The GNE and mean F 0 are useful to classify the degree of breathiness and strain, respectively. The mean F 0 distinguished between rough, breathy, and strained voices, with rough voices more severe compared to the other two. RESUMO INTRODUCTION Voice is multidimensional(1) and its production is related to anatomic, physiological, emotional, organic, environmental, and behavioral features. Voice evaluation, therefore, must be based on these principles, with mapping of voice production and correlation with such features for one to take a truly comprehensive view of dysphonia.The purpose of voice evaluation is to analyze voice quality, that is, whether the voice is healthy or not; to diagnose voice disorders, to monitor any disease or function progression, to evaluate prognosis, and to identify possible risks to develop a disorder (2) . Overall, studies on voice evaluation and diagnosis have attempted to answer three essential clinical questions (2) : what is the measure to determine presence/absence of any voice disorder (diagnosis)? Is there evidence that the test used in evaluation can determine the nature (etiology) of a voice disorder? What is the measure capacity to determine the severity of a voice disorder?In a study (3) conducted with experienced speech language pathologists in the United States, all the 53 interviewees reported using auditoryperceptual measurements in voice evaluation followed by analysis of body posture and movements, and by dynamic voice evaluation. These subjective methods were substantially more used than objective evaluations by acoustic measurements only.However, in a systematic review, most studies (60%) on voice evaluation in patients with voice disorders used acoustic measurements and focused on presence/absence of a disorder (78%). Few articles (18%) have investigated the ability of a measurement to measure the severity of voice disorder (2) . Also, most studies have used an image of larynx as reference to define the p...

Objective: To analyze perceptual-auditory and acoustic characteristics of children's voices of different age ranges. Patients and Methods: Ninety-three 3- to 10-year-old children grouped from 3 to 5, 6 to 7, and 8 to 10 years served as participants. The severity of vocal deviation and the parameters of roughness, breathiness, strain, and instability were assessed using a visual analog scale. We calculated the mean and standard deviation of fundamental frequency (F₀), jitter, shimmer, and glottal-to-noise excitation ratio for the sustained vowel, and the mean of F₀ variability for connected speech. Results: The most affected voices were in the age range 8-10 years, and only the phonation tension level was reduced as a result of aging. There were significant differences between children aged 3-5 years and the other age ranges for F₀ mean for sustained vowels and F₀ variability. Conclusion: Children aged 8-10 years had the highest severity of vocal deviation. There was a significant reduction of phonation tension and measure of F₀, jitter, and shimmer after the age of 5 years.