Nasalance Scores for Normal Speakers of American English Obtained by the Nasometer II Using the MacKay-Kummer SNAP-R Test

Abstract

Objective: To establish nasalance score norms for adolescent and young adult native speakers of American English and also determine age-group and gender differences using the Simplified Nasometric Assessment Procedures (SNAP) Test-R and Nasometer II. Design: Prospective study using a randomly selected sample of participants. Setting: Greater Cincinnati area and Miami University of Ohio. Participants: Participants had a history of normal speech and language development and no history of speech therapy. Participants in the adolescent group were recruited from schools in West Clermont and Hamilton County, whereas the young adults were recruited from Miami University of Ohio. The participants of both groups were residents of Cincinnati, Ohio or Oxford, Ohio and spoke midland American English dialect. Outcome Measures: Mean nasalance scores for the SNAP Test-R. Results: Normative nasalance scores were obtained for the Syllable Repetition/Prolonged Sounds, Picture-Cued, and Paragraph subtests. Results showed statistically significant nasalance score differences between adolescents and young adults in the Syllable Repetition, Picture-Cued, and Paragraph subtests, and between males and females in the Syllable Repetition and the Sound-Prolonged subtests. A significant univariate effect was found for the syllables and sentences containing nasal consonants and high vowels compared to syllables and sentences containing oral consonants and low vowels. Across all the SNAP Test-R subtests, the females’ nasalance scores were higher than the males. A significant univariate effect was also found across nasal syllables, and high vowels such that the females’ nasalance scores were higher than the males. Tables of normative data are provided that may be useful for clinical purposes. Conclusion: Norms obtained demonstrated nasalance score differences according to age and gender, particularly in the Syllable Repetition/Prolonged Sound subtest. These differences were discussed in light of potential reasons for their existence and implications for understanding velopharyngeal function. In addition, nasalance scores are affected by the vowel type and place of articulation of the consonant. These facts should be considered when nasometry is used clinically and for research purposes.

Relationship Between Auditory-Perceptual and Objective Measures of Resonance in Children with Cleft Palate: Effects of Intelligibility and Dysphonia

“…This is encouraging, as past study indicates that there may be more variation in ratings of male speech, 58 and the Nasometer has been shown to detect higher nasalance in females on /i/ vowelspresumably due to sex-related differences in velopharyngeal structures. 35 The lack of sex related differences may reflect the fact that this study population was largely pre-pubertal. As such, it is likely that the impact of the thickening of the velum, and lengthening of the levator veli palatini observed during puberty in males, 87 was minimal in the current study.…”

“…Sex and age were accounted for in the model because these factors can impact nasometry outcomes. 35 Fixed factors included in the model included stimulus type (bilabial, alveolar, velar, sibilant, Zoo passage), auditory-perceptual ratings (balanced resonance, mild, moderate, severe, profoundly hypernasal), sex (male, female), and cleft related diagnosis (Veau I, II, II, IV, submucous), and all interactions. Patient age was included as a covariate.…”

“…18,34 The Nasometer is designed to provide clinicians with an objective measure indicating when a patient's resonance is outside of normative range. 35,36 As such, the Nasometer may supplement auditory-perceptual ratings 37 and aid in diagnosis if values differ across stimuli. 33 It stands to reason, however, that to be of optimal clinical value, nasometry measures and auditory-perception assessments should provide similar results.…”

Normative Values of Nasal Resonance: Preliminary Data for Polish Working-Age Adults

“…However, as Woo and colleagues have shown, differences in measurement equipment can cause discrepancies of up to several percent, despite the same language tests being used [11]. This suggests that measurement standards should be checked and adjusted whenever there are significant changes in recording methods [12].…”

Nasalance scores in Spanish-speaking children aged 3 to 5 years according to gender, age, and vowel load

“…Some studies have found a slight increase in nasalance values of children with increased age (Ünal-Logacev et al, 2020;Alfwaress, 2022). Others have found no effect of age on nasalance (Bettens et al, 2017).…”