Experimental investigations of the influence of room acoustics on the teacher's voice

Kob, Malte; Behler, Gottfried; Kamprolf, Anja; Goldschmidt, Oliver; Neuschaefer‐Rube, Christiane

doi:10.1250/ast.29.86

Cited by 25 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The measurements suggest that teachers from the test group made good use of the voice support as an adaptive mechanism to preserve their vocal health. This finding supports the results from a study by Kob et al [10], who found that teachers with voice problems were more affected by poor classroom acoustics than their healthy colleagues. The behavior of the teachers in the test group follows the results of Brunskog et al [11], who found that teachers lowered their voice levels as a function of the amplification offered by the room to their own voice.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Influence of Classroom Acoustics on the Voice Levels of Teachers With and Without Voice Problems: A Field Study

Pelegrín-García

Åhlander

Rydell

et al. 2010

Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics

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Many teachers suffer from voice problems and classroom acoustics has been considered as one of the potential hazards for this. The present study examines how classroom acoustics interacts with the voices of 14 teachers without voice problems and 13 teachers with voice problems. The assessment of the voice problems was made with a questionnaire and a laryngological examination. During teaching, the sound pressure level at the teacher's position was monitored. The teacher's voice level and the activity noise level were separated using mixed Gaussians. In addition, objective acoustic parameters of Reverberation Time and Voice Support were measured in the 30 empty classrooms of the study. An empirical model shows that the measured voice levels depended on the activity noise levels and the voice support. Teachers with and without voice problems were differently affected by the voice support of the classroom. The results thus suggest that teachers with voice problems are more aware of classroom acoustic conditions than their healthy colleagues and make use of the more supportive rooms to lower their voice levels. This behavior may result from an adaptation process of the teachers with voice problems to preserve their voices. [Work supported by AFA.]

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Influence of Classroom Acoustics on the Voice Levels of Teachers With and Without Voice Problems: A Field Study

Pelegrín-García

Åhlander

Rydell

et al. 2010

Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics

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“…It can be noted that this was an entirely subjective study -no objective values were calculated from the simulated impulse responses. Kob et al 8 has presented results from a study where the voice status of 25 teachers were investigated using standard methods as applied by audimetrisists, phoniatricians and speech therapists, in addition to an acoustic analysis of speech and voice samples.…”

Section: Bistafa and Bradleymentioning

confidence: 99%

Increase in voice level and speaker comfort in lecture rooms

Brunskog

Gade

Bellester³

et al. 2009

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Teachers often suffer from health problems related to their voice.These problems are related to their working environment, including the acoustics of the lecture rooms. However, there is a lack of studies linking the room acoustic parameters to the voice produced by the speaker.In this pilot study, the main goals are to investigate whether objectively measurable parameters of the rooms can be related to a increase of the voice sound power produced by speakers and to the speakers subjective judgments about the rooms. In six different rooms with different size, reverberation time and other physical attributes, the sound power level produced by six speakers was measured. Objective room acoustic parameters were measured in the same rooms, including reverberation time and room gain, and questionnaires were handed out to persons who had experience talking in the rooms. It is found that in different rooms significant changes in the sound power produced by the speaker can be found. It is also found that these changes mainly have to do with the size of the room and to the gain produced by the room. To describe this quality, a new room acoustic quantity called 'room gain' is proposed.

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“…While the auditory-feedback manifestations of distinctive room-acoustic properties are likely to play a role in vocal accommodations (i.e., adapting the characteristics of voices to local circumstances) of occupational speech workers, 3,12,14 more research is needed to understand the specific effects. 15 The impact of classroom and other room acoustics on listeners has been thoroughly studied, especially regarding noise levels and speech intelligibility, [16][17][18] resulting in listener-focused standards and recommendations. 19,20 However, investigations regarding acoustic effects of classrooms and other settings on talkers are still limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of added absorption on the vocal exertions of talkers in a reverberant room

Rollins

Leishman

Whiting

et al. 2019

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Occupational speech users such as schoolteachers develop voice disorders at higher rates than the general population. Previous research has suggested that room acoustics may influence these trends. The research reported in this paper utilized varying acoustical conditions in a reverberant room to assess the effects on vocal parameters of healthy talkers. Thirty-two participants were recorded while completing a battery of speech tasks under eight room conditions. Vocal parameters were derived from the recordings and the statistically significant effects of room acoustics were verified using mixed-model analysis of variance tests. Changes in reverberation time (T 20 ), early decay time (EDT), clarity index (C 50 ), speech transmission index (STI), and room gain (G RG ) all showed highly correlated effects on certain vocal parameters, including speaking level standard deviation, speaking rate, and the acoustic vocal quality index. As T 20 , EDT, and G RG increased, and as C 50 and STI decreased, vocal parameters showed tendencies toward dysphonic phonation. Empirically derived equations are proposed that describe the relationships between select room-acoustic parameters and vocal parameters. This study provides an increased understanding of the impact of room acoustics on voice production, which could assist acousticians in improving room designs to help mitigate unhealthy vocal exertion and, by extension, voice problems.

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Experimental investigations of the influence of room acoustics on the teacher's voice

Cited by 25 publications

References 18 publications

Influence of Classroom Acoustics on the Voice Levels of Teachers With and Without Voice Problems: A Field Study

Influence of Classroom Acoustics on the Voice Levels of Teachers With and Without Voice Problems: A Field Study

Increase in voice level and speaker comfort in lecture rooms

Effects of added absorption on the vocal exertions of talkers in a reverberant room

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