Acoustic vocal measures in women without voice complaints and with normal larynxes

Abstract

It is important to establish normal voice standards in order to help guide voice professionals. Aim: to describe acoustic voice measures of adult young women with normal larynxes and without voice complaints. Method: 56 women underwent ENT evaluation and speech screening. The "A" vowel utterance was digitally recorded and analyzed by means of the Praat (Version 4.6.10) software. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and by the Shapiro-Wilk test with a 5% significance level. The study was cross-section and exploratory. Results: normal distribution measures were: fundamental frequency; Jitter (local); Jitter (local, absolute); Jitter (ppq5); Jitter (ddp). The Jitter (rap), all the Shimmer, the noise/harmonic ratio (NHR) and the harmonic/noise ratio (HNR) values did not follow a normal distribution. Conclusion: It seems that the measures which followed the normal distribution can be used as base-normal values for the interpretation of acoustic voice analysis of those women with and without laryngeal disorders. All the values with and without normal distribution showed results similar to the ones present in the national and international literature.

Uso do programa MDVP em diferentes contextos: revisão de literatura

“…From this finding it can be inferred that the measures that followed normal distribution are likely to be used as reference values for the interpretation of the results from female acoustic voice analyses, with or without laryngeal disorders. In addition, the study showed that all measures with or without normal distribution had similar results of those reported in national and international literature 4 . In the same line, a study 25 was conducted to verify the normal vocal acoustic characteristics of Arabs.…”

“…Because of its exceptional accuracy, it allows evaluators to recognize voice alterations early and helps compare the effects and efficiency of several vocal techniques or other voice therapeutic procedures, even if they produce subtle changes [4][5][6] . Among the advantages of using this method in voice assessment is the fact that it is noninvasive and deliver numerical parameters.…”

Centro de força corporal, tempos máximos de fonação e pressão sonora de um grupo de mulheres saudáveis

“…Inclusion criteria: to be female, since women are more engaged in health care practices and are more vulnerable to musculoskeletal changes, due to specific anatomical and functional characteristics, besides evaluation of the perineal musculature is performed by the vaginal cavity (13) ; being in the adult age range from 19 to 40 years, since the woman, at age 19, has already passed the changes of adolescence and at 40, has not yet experienced the significant hormonal changes of the climacteric phase (13,15) ; to make a continuous contraceptive use to avoid possible influences on physical and laryngeal fitness, influenced by the phases of the menstrual cycle (16) ; Have a body mass index (BMI) classified as normal (between 18,5 and 24,9 kg/m 2 ); have adhered to the FICT. Exclusion criteria: have a history or complaint of cognitive deficit, due to the possible influence about the understanding the orders; be multiparous or pregnant; being in premenstrual period, menstrual period or allergies, colds or flu, in the interview day; to present alterations of perineal sensitivity; have made orthopedic or abdominal surgeries; refer to neurological, psychiatric, gastric, respiratory, laryngeal and/or any surgical procedures of the head and neck; to present organic and/or functional alteration at the laryngeal level in the medical exam of laryngoscopy; to report being smoker and/or consuming alcohol in excess (four doses at the same time) (17) ; to present vocal complaints for at least 15 days; to present hearing loss because it influences vocal quality.…”

“…These structures are also fundamental for the expiration and maintenance of the abdominal breathing support for voice production, mainly in its aspects of support MPT and SP (1) . The development of respiratory control is important for the maintaining air pressure, during phonation (13) . The abdominal respiratory support provides a significant improvement in vocal extension rates (3) loudness (subjective sensation of SP) e pitch (subjective sensation of frequency) (14) .…”

Frequência fundamental das 7 vogais orais do português em vozes de crianças

“…Apesar da diversidade de possibilidades de aplicação da análise vocal digital, pode ser observada na literatura uma tendência de se investigar parâ-metros acústicos em uma população predominantemente adulta [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] . A população infantil é pesquisada de forma mais restrita.…”