INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Vocal fatigue is one of the most common voice symptoms. It usually refers to the sensation of vocal tiredness after a long period of speaking or singing. The purpose of this study was to compare the acoustic characteristics of the voice before and after a long period of voice use in a group of radio broadcasters. METHODS: Eight radio broadcasters with normal voices were assessed. We used cepstrum, energy ratio, noise to harmonic ratio and soft phonation index as acoustic variables to assess the possible pre-post vocal loading changes objectively. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant pre-post differences in any of the acoustic parameters. Although cepstrum at high pitch did not show a significant difference, it obtained the greatest difference among the acoustic variables. CONCLUSIONS: The acoustic measurements used in the present study might not be sensitive enough or appropriate for detecting vocal changes after a long period of voice use, whether in reading (as reported in previous research) or speaking tasks. Moreover, a longer period of vocal loading would eventually reveal more evident and consistent acoustic voice changes.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Vocal fatigue is one of the most common voice symptoms. It usually refers to the sensation of vocal tiredness after a long period of speaking or singing. The purpose of this study was to compare the acoustic characteristics of the voice before and after a long period of voice use in a group of radio broadcasters. METHODS: Eight radio broadcasters with normal voices were assessed. We used cepstrum, energy ratio, noise to harmonic ratio and soft phonation index as acoustic variables to assess the possible pre-post vocal loading changes objectively. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant pre-post differences in any of the acoustic parameters. Although cepstrum at high pitch did not show a significant difference, it obtained the greatest difference among the acoustic variables. CONCLUSIONS: The acoustic measurements used in the present study might not be sensitive enough or appropriate for detecting vocal changes after a long period of voice use, whether in reading (as reported in previous research) or speaking tasks. Moreover, a longer period of vocal loading would eventually reveal more evident and consistent acoustic voice changes.
Authors: Eric J Hunter; Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva; Eva van Leer; Miriam van Mersbergen; Chaya Devie Nanjundeswaran; Pasquale Bottalico; Mary J Sandage; Susanna Whitling Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2020-02-19 Impact factor: 2.297