Electroglottographic Evaluation of Age and Gender Effects During Sustained Phonation and Connected Speech

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of age and gender on selected vocal fold vibratory behaviors during vowel prolongation and connected speech using electroglottography (EGG). Forty-six young and older individuals (23 males and 23 females) with normal voices participated in this study. EGG parameters including fundamental frequency and contact quotient were measured during sustained vowel prolongation and connected speech tasks. Significant age-by-gender interactions were found for both parameters. Moreover, results from discriminant function analyses revealed that the overall accuracies of the parameters in predicting different age and gender groups were higher for the connected speech tasks than for the sustained vowel prolongation task (89.1% and 73.9% for passage and phrase tasks vs 71.7% for vowel prolongation). These findings suggest that reliability of EGG measures can be affected by the test stimuli. Therefore, one should carefully consider the use of the speech material when assessing vocal fold behaviors using EGG. The findings also support the use of connected speech stimulus, preferably at passage level, in electroglottographic evaluation for a better representation of vocal fold vibrating behaviors.

Effects of age on the amplitude, frequency and perceived quality of voice

“…We also confirmed several effects of age on voice acoustic measures, including a significant decrease in F0 values in women (Honjo and Isshiki 1980;Torre and Barlow 2009;Ma and Love 2010;Da Silva et al 2011;Stathopoulos et al 2011;Dehqan et al 2013;Goy et al 2013), and no change in f0 values in men (Stathopoulos et al 2011;Goy et al 2013). For MPT, consistent with previous reports, we showed that it was unaffected by age (Maslan et al 2011;Goy et al 2013), even though MPT should depend upon several factors such as, respiratory volumes, airflow rate, task comprehension, and maximal effort, factors that one would expect to decline with age.…”

“…These changes have an impact on voice production and quality (Mazzetto de Menezes et al 2014). Indeed, aging negatively affects voice stability and amplitude in a sex-dependent manner (Linville and Fisher 1985;Ma and Love 2010;Dehqan et al 2013;Goy et al 2013). For instance, men generally show a gradual increase in fundamental frequency (f0) with age (Honjo and Isshiki 1980;Harnsberger et al 2008;Torre and Barlow 2009;Ma and Love 2010;Dehqan et al 2013), while women exhibit a decrease in f0 with age (Honjo and Isshiki 1980;Torre and Barlow 2009;Ma and Love 2010;Da Silva et al 2011;Dehqan et al 2013;Goy et al 2013).…”

Avaliação eletroglotográfica de mulheres disfônicas com lesão de massa

“…Aline Mansueto Mourão (1) , Iara Barreto Bassi (2) , Ana Cristina Côrtes Gama (3) RESUMO Objetivo: comparar os resultados da avaliação eletroglotográfica entre mulheres adultas com laudo otorrinolaringológico de nódulos vocais e presença de fenda glótica com mulheres sem alterações laríngeas. Método: trata-se de 20 mulheres, sendo 10 com exame otorrinolaringológico de nódulo vocal, associado à fenda glótica, e 10 com vozes avaliadas na análise perceptivo-auditiva como neutras e avaliação otorrinolaringológica sem alteração laríngea.…”

“…(2) Fonoaudióloga; Mestranda em Saúde e Trabalho: Saúde Pública pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais -UFMG -Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil. (3) Fonoaudióloga; Professora Associada do Departamento de Fonoaudiologia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais -UFMG -Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil.…”

“…A eletroglotografia (EGG) é um método objetivo não invasivo e de simples medida, utilizado para monitorar a vibração das pregas vocais [1][2][3] . O princípio subjacente ao método foi criado por Fabre (1957) 3 sendo que uma corrente elétrica pequena e de alta frequência, geralmente entre 300 KHz e 5 MHz, é transmitida entre dois eletrodos que são colocados externamente sobre os lados da cartilagem tireóidea ao nível da laringe.…”