Consequences of Chronic Nasal Obstruction on the Laryngeal Mucosa and Voice Quality of 4- to 12-Year-Old Children

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Laryngeal and voice disorders in patients with gastroesophageal symptoms. Correlation with pH-monitoring

OBJETIVO: Investigar as alterações laríngeas e vocais em pacientes com sintomas de refluxo gastroesofágico e correlacioná-las com o exame de phmetria. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo que incluiu os pacientes atendidos nos ambulatórios de Distúrbios da Voz da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu no período de cinco anos com sintomas vocais e gastroesofágicos. Os pacientes foram submetidos à videolaringoscopia, às análises vocais perceptivo-auditivas, a analise vocal acústica computadorizada e ao exame de pHmetria de dois canais com monitorização durante 24 horas. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídos 57 pacientes (entre 21 a 65 anos; 45 mulheres e 12 homens). Desses, 18 apresentavam pHmetria normal (31,6%) e 39 alterada (68,4%). As videolaringoscopias registraram diversas lesões laríngeas tanto nos pacientes com pHmetria normal como alterada, sendo mais relevantes neste último grupo, destacando-se a paquidermia posterior. As avaliações vocais perceptivo-auditivas identificaram alterações vocais de diversas intensidades em ambos os grupos, mais importantes nos pacientes com pHmetria alterada. Todos os parâmetros acústicos, exceto Fo, mostraram-se alterados em ambos os grupos, quando comparados aos controles. CONCLUSÕES: Alterações vocais perceptivas e acústicas, e lesões laríngeas foram registradas tanto nos pacientes com phmetria normal como alterada, sinalizando para a importância da historia clínica e dos achados videolaringoscópicos no diagnóstico das laringites ácidas.

Study of the elderly females' voice by phonetography

This study was carried out to investigate the voice characteristics of 40 healthy females with no voice disorders, ranging in age from 60 to 84 years ((X) over bar = 68.2 +/- 5.74 years). Measurements over all the entire phonational range were obtained by phonetography. The subjects were asked to sustain the vowel /a/ in modal register for a minimum of 5 seconds in the highest and lowest intensities after hearing the semitones C, E, G, and A, over all phonational ranges. The results indicated expansion of the low and reduction of high ends of the pitch range, decrease of the pitch numbers of the vocal range, restriction of the lowest and highest limits of the intensity, and reduction of either the maximum phonational range and the phonetogram area. The phonetography technique has shown efficacy to investigate the voice characteristics of elderly females.

Evolvable hardware applied to voice recognition

This paper presents some results of the application on Evolvable Hardware (EHW) in the area of voice recognition. Evolvable Hardware is able to change inner connections, using genetic learning techniques, adapting its own functionality to external condition changing. This technique became feasible by the improvement of the Programmable Logic Devices. Nowadays, it is possible to have, in a single device, the ability to change, on-line and in real-time, part of its own circuit. This work proposes a reconfigurable architecture of a system that is able to receive voice commands to execute special tasks as, to help handicapped persons in their daily home routines. The idea is to collect several voice samples, process them through algorithms based on Mel - Ceptrais theory to obtain their numerical coefficients for each sample, which, compose the universe of search used by genetic algorithm. The voice patterns considered, are limited to seven sustained Portuguese vowel phonemes (a, eh, e, i, oh, o, u).

Fast robot voice interface through optimum-path forest

Voice-based user interfaces have been actively pursued aiming to help individuals with motor impairments, providing natural interfaces to communicate with machines. In this work, we have introduced a recent machine learning technique named Optimum-Path Forest (OPF) for voice-based robot interface, which has been demonstrated to be similar to the state-of-the-art pattern recognition techniques, but much faster. Experiments were conducted against Support Vector Machines, Neural Networks and a Bayesian classifier to show the OPF robustness. The proposed architecture provides high accuracy rates allied with low computational times. © 2012 IEEE.

Aging voice: presbyphonia

Presbyphonia is a physiological process of aging voice that includes morphological changes in the coverage mucosa, muscle, and cartilage. We revised the morphological, endoscopic, and vocal acoustic changes that occur in presbyphonia and discussed some treatments proposed to minimize glottal incompetence and improve vocal performance of the elderly.

Voice Disorders in Teachers. A Review

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Differences in acoustic and perceptual parameters of the voice between elderly and young women at habitual and high intensity

The present study aimed to compare elderly and young female voices in habitual and high intensity. The effect of increased intensity on the acoustic and perceptual parameters was assessed. Sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and harmonic to noise ratio were obtained at habitual and high intensity voice in a group of 30 elderly women and 30 young women. Perceptual assessment was also performed. Both groups demonstrated an increase in sound pressure level and fundamental frequency from habitual voice to high intensity voice. No differences were found between groups in any acoustic variables on samples recorded with habitual intensity level. No significant differences between groups were found in habitual intensity level for pitch, hoarseness, roughness, and breathiness. Asthenia and instability obtained significant higher values in elderly than young participants, whereas, the elderly demonstrated lower values for perceived tension and loudness than young subjects. Acoustic and perceptual measures do not demonstrate evident differences between elderly and young speakers in habitual intensity level. The parameters analyzed may lack the sensitivity necessary to detect differences in subjects with normal voices. Phonation with high intensity highlights differences between groups, especially in perceptual parameters. Therefore, high intensity should be included to compare elderly and young voice.

Voice disorders in teachers: clinical, videolaryngoscopical, and vocal aspects

Dysphonia is more prevalent in teachers than among the general population. The objective of this study was to analyze clinical, vocal, and videolaryngoscopical aspects in dysphonic teachers. Ninety dysphonic teachers were inquired about their voice, comorbidities, and work conditions. They underwent vocal auditory-perceptual evaluation (maximum phonation time and GRBASI scale), acoustic voice analysis, and videolaryngoscopy. The results were compared with a control group consisting of 90 dysphonic nonteachers, of similar gender and ages, and with professional activities excluding teaching and singing. In both groups, there were 85 women and five men (age range 31-50 years). In the controls, the majority of subjects worked in domestic activities, whereas the majority of teachers worked in primary (42.8%) and secondary school (37.7%). Teachers and controls reported, respectively: vocal abuse (76.7%; 37.8%), weekly hours of work between 21 and 40 years (72.2%; 80%), under 10 years of practice (36%; 23%), absenteeism (23%; 0%), sinonasal (66%; 20%) and gastroesophageal symptoms (44%; 22%), hoarseness (82%; 78%), throat clearing (70%; 62%), and phonatory effort (72%; 52%). In both groups, there were decreased values of maximum phonation time, impairment of the G parameter in the GRBASI scale (82%), decrease of F0 and increase of the rest of acoustic parameters. Nodules and laryngopharyngeal reflux were predominant in teachers; laryngopharyngeal reflux, polyps, and sulcus vocalis predominated in the controls. Vocal symptoms, comorbidities, and absenteeism were predominant among teachers. The vocal analyses were similar in both groups. Nodules and laryngopharyngeal reflux were predominant among teachers, whereas polyps, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and sulcus were predominant among controls.

Aging voice and the laryngeal muscle atrophy

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)