Acoustic characteristics: tracheoesophageal speech.

This study examined differences among five tracheoesophageal, four esophageal, and five laryngeal speakers on the acoustic parameters of intensity and duration. Each subject repeated 14 prerecorded model sentences and prolonged phonation of three vowels. Analogue prints of the voice samples were obtained, and measures were subjected to parametric statistical analysis. Differences among groups indicate that the tracheoesophageal speakers are more like normal speakers than are esophageal speakers, indicating that surgical procedures such as the tracheoesophageal puncture are a significant rehabilitative alternative for the laryngectomee.