Acoustic and Respiratory Measures as a Function of Age in the Male Voice (original) (raw)
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Voice and aging: clinical, endoscopic and acoustic investigation
Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery, 2016
Vocal symptoms are frequent in the elderly and are consequences of structural changes in the larynx that occur with aging. to identify the voice alterations in elderly patients attending a voice clinic. elderly patients of both genders were divided into two groups: 60-75 and above 76 years. All patients completed a questionnaire with identification data, profession, vocal symptoms, hearing, habits and addictions, and systemic diseases. All participants were submitted to video laryngoscopy and acoustic and auditory-perceptual vocal analysis. In this study women predominated (40 F versus 32 M). Hoarseness was reported by 34.72% of the participants. Other symptoms included: singing difficulty (17%) and phonatory effort (15.28%). Maximum Phonation Time showed lower values and scores 2 and 3 of perceptual analysis were registered in 33% of the elderly participants, but without statistical significance. The fundamental frequency values were inferior in older man and high in women and acou...
An Acoustic Analysis on Voice Changes in Adults and Geriatrics
https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR\_Vol.13\_Issue.5\_May2023/IJHSR-Abstract13.html, 2023
Objective: This study has established the acoustic analyses on adults and geriatrics in both male and female populations. And to compare the acoustic analyses of both male and female populations Method: Participants were 118 male and female between the age range of 30-60 years, without the signs and symptoms of vocal problems; Praat (6.1.16 version); Vowels /a/ /i/ and /u/. Result: There is no significant difference (p > 0.05) for fundamental frequency (F0), harmonic to noise ratio (HNR), Jitter and Shimmer across the selected age groups (30-39; 40-49; 50-60). Gender comparison of voice characteristics shows high significant difference (p< 0.01) in fundamental frequency (F0). Whereas no difference or change in the score were noted for harmonics to noise ratio, jitter and shimmer. Conclusion: This study, like other investigations, supports the assumption that the fundamental frequency of males increases with age. The female fundamental frequency decreases with age. The male and female voice have no significant difference among the chosen age group in statistical analysis.
Educational Gerontology, 2001
The study reported in this article attempted to obtain normative acoustic data of voice for elderly male and female speakers and to explore the educational implications of the effects of aging on those selected acoustic parameters. Voice samples from 21 male and 23 female elderly speakers aged 70 to 80 years were obtained on measures of 15 selected Multi-Dimensional Voice Program acoustic parameters. These data then were compared with the published norms for young and middle-aged adults. The results showed that, compared with young and middle-aged adults, elderly speakers had signi cantly different (usually poorer) vocal output on all of the selected acoustic parameters of voice. These ndings illustrate the importance of establishing acoustic norms and thresholds for elderly men and women and stress the necessity of using discretion in making dragnostic measurements of elderly speakers' acoustic parameters of voice. This article also highlights the educational implications of such aging voice changes.
Noise and Tremor in the Perception of Vocal Aging in Males
Journal of Voice, 2010
To specify a set of acoustic cues for vocal aging and to establish their perceptual relevance. Study Design. Perceptual testing. Methods. To identify the acoustic and perceptual correlates of the aging voice, voice quality [in conjunction with speaking rate and fundamental frequency (F 0)] was systematically manipulated using resynthesis to determine its effect on perceived age. Ten young male voices were resynthesized using two levels of noise (random modulation of F 0 contour) and two levels of tremor (constant modulation of F 0 contour with a low-amplitude wave) under a speaking-rate manipulation (an increase in speaking rate that is common to older male voices). These materials were submitted to 40 naive listeners in an age-estimation task. Two sets of comparison materials were also included for evaluation: unmanipulated samples from a 150 voice database of young, middle-aged, and older voices and disordered voice samples representing natural manifestations of the voice qualities of interest. Results. Speaking rate, highest degree of tremor, and highest degree of noise all shifted, in an additive manner, the mean perceived age of the young male voices by a maximum of 12 years on average; individual voices were observed being shifted by a generation. Fundamental frequency manipulations had no significant effect on perceived age. Conclusions. Voice quality (both tremor and noise) and speaking rate are all perceptually relevant cues of age in male voices.
Aging Voice Index (AVI): Reliability and Validity of a Voice Quality of Life Scale for Older Adults
Journal of Voice, 2018
The primary objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Aging Voice Index (AVI)-a tool specifically designed for aging adults with voice disorders. A total of 92 older adults were asked to complete the Voice-Related Quality of Life Scale (VRQOL) and the AVI as well as provide their self-perceived voice severity rating of their voice problem and demographic information. Intraclass correlation for test-retest reliability was 0.952. The AVI was highly correlated to the VRQOL (P < 0.0001). Additionally, the AVI score was found to distinguish between self-rated voice quality (P < 0.0001) and diagnostic voice categories (P < 0.0001). No significant differences were identified for sex or race. The AVI is a valid and reliable quality of life assessment for older adults with voice disorders. The AVI will capture the quality of life impact a voice disorder has on older adults. Future studies will further explore differences in clinical diagnoses and identify clinically significant changes in pre-to post-AVI scores.
Normative Voice Data for Younger and Older Adults
Journal of Voice, 2013
We constructed age-and gender-specific norms for healthy adults on a large number of speech and voice measures using standardized recording procedures. Study design. Participants were 159 younger (mean ¼ 19.1 years, standard deviation [SD] ¼ 1.4) and 133 older (mean ¼ 72.0 years, SD ¼ 4.8) healthy native English male and female speakers who did not currently smoke and had typical hearing for their age group. Methods. Participants phonated the vowel [a] under various instructions and read an abbreviated version of the Rainbow Passage. Voice measures based on the productions of [a] included fundamental frequency (F 0), jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio, noise-to-harmonics ratio, maximum phonation time, minimum phonation intensity, maximum pitch, and the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI). Mean speaking fundamental frequency (SF 0), SF 0 standard deviation (SF 0 SD), and signal intensity were measured from the reading passage. Results. Noteworthy age-related differences were found for males and females. Older females had a lower F 0 and SF 0 and smaller SF 0 SD than younger females, but younger and older males did not differ. Shimmer increased with age for males, but neither jitter nor shimmer increased with age for females, whereas noise measures were similar for both ages. Younger and older males had a similar DSI, whereas older females had a higher DSI than younger females. Conclusions. This study provides a unique database containing a wide variety of voice measures collected from a large sample of adults in good health using standardized recording procedures. Males and females differed on the type and extent of age-related vocal changes, but overall age-related differences were limited.
Epidemiology of Voice Disorders in the Elderly: Preliminary Findings
The Laryngoscope, 2007
Objectives: Epidemiologic studies of the prevalence and risk factors of voice disorders in the elderly, nontreatment seeking population are nonexistent. The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to 1) estimate the prevalence of voice disorders, 2) identify variables associated with increased risk of voice disorders, and 3) measure the socioemotional impact of voice disorders on the elderly who live independently. Study Design: Prospective, cross-sectional survey. Methods: One hundred seventeen seniors (39 males and 78 females; mean age, 76.1 yr; SD, 8.5 yr; range, 65-94 yr), residing in Utah and Kentucky, were interviewed using a questionnaire that addressed three areas related to voice disorders: prevalence, potential risk factors, and socioemotional consequences/effects. Results: The lifetime prevalence of a voice disorder was 47%, with 29.1% of participants reporting a current voice disorder. The majority of respondents (60%) reported chronic voice problems persisting for at least 4 weeks. Seniors who had experienced esophageal reflux, severe neck/back injury, and chronic pain were at increased risk. Voice-related effort and discomfort, combined with increased anxiety and frustration and the need to repeat oneself, were specific areas that adversely affected quality of life. Conclusions: This preliminary epidemiologic study confirmed that voice disorders are common among the elderly, and further research is needed to identify additional risk factors contributing to voice disorder vulnerability.