Auditory-perceptual Assessment of Healthy and Disordered Voices Using the Voice Deviation Scale

Author(s):  
Francisco Contreras-Ruston ◽  
Marco Guzman ◽  
Adrián Castillo-Allendes ◽  
Lady Cantor ◽  
Mara Behlau
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Matthias Seipelt ◽  
Andreas Möller ◽  
Tadeus Nawka ◽  
Ute Gonnermann ◽  
Felix Caffier ◽  
...  

Instrument-assisted measuring procedures expand the options within phoniatric diagnostics by quantifying the condition of the voice. The aim of this study was to examine objective treatment-associated changes of the recently developed vocal extent measure (VEM) and the established dysphonia severity index (DSI) in relation to subjective tools, i.e., self-evaluation via voice handicap index (VHI-12) and external evaluation via auditory-perceptual assessment of hoarseness (H). The findings for H (3 raters’ group assessment), VHI-12, DSI, and VEM in 152 patients of both sexes (age range 16–75 years), taken before and 3 months after phonosurgery or vocal exercises, were compared and correlated. Posttherapeutically, all of the recorded parameters improved (p<0.001). The degree of H reduced on average by 0.5, the VHI-12 score sank by 5 points, while DSI and VEM rose by 1.5 and 19, respectively. The correlations of these changes were significant but showed gradual differences between H and VHI-12 (r = 0.3), H and DSI (r = −0.3), and H and VEM (r = −0.4). We conclude that all investigated parameters are adequate to verify therapeutic outcomes but represent different dimensions of the voice. However, changes in the degree of H as gold standard were best recognized with the new VEM.


Author(s):  
Iryna O. Sinaiko ◽  
Vasyl I. Troyan ◽  
Elena V. Lobova ◽  
Veronica M. Kryshtal

Objective: To investigate the risk of mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals of the voice-speech professions and the possibility of its impact on voice function and quality of life. Materials and Methods: The study involved 33 people of voice-speech professions who were treated at the University Clinic of Zaporizhzhia State Medical University in 2020. The presence of mental disorders was determined by questionnaires using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The patients were divided into 2 groups, depending on the absence and presence of significantly expressed symptoms. A specialized phoniatric examination using functional loads (measuring the time of maximum phonation (PMF), perceptual assessment of the voice according to the GRBAS scale), videostroboscopy of the larynx were carried out. The assessment of the mental impact of voice disorders on the quality of life was carried out according to the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) questionnaire. The statistical significance of the comparative indicators and the connection of their changes were established using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results: It was found that among the surveyed 33 people, 22 patients (group 1) had subclinical anxiety and depression, and 11 (group 2) had no significant symptoms. Patients with subclinically severe mental disorders (n = 22) showed a significant increase in the emotional indicator by 85.37% (p≤0.01). A high positive relationship was found between subclinical levels of anxiety and depression and disturbances in the phonatory cycle of the larynx. When conducting a Spearman correlation analysis between the data of perceptual assessment of the voice according to the GRBAS system, data of video stroboscopy of the larynx, indicators of anxiety and depression, and the results of the VHI questionnaire, a positive relationship of a high degree was established between the level of anxiety and vibratory insufficiency of the vocal folds (rs=0.95; p≤0.05), negative with the Navy (rs=-0.59; p≤0.05), as well as physical (rs=0.75; p≤0.05) and emotional (rs=0.79; p≤0.05) components of average quality of life. The data obtained indicate a significant effect of subclinical disorders of the mental state on impaired voice function and the emotional component of the quality of life in persons of vocal-speech professions. Conclusions: Screening of mental health in persons of voice-speech professions together with a baseline assessment of voice function and quality of life are important steps for monitoring potential voice disorders and the formation of risk groups in order to carry out preventive and therapeutic measures for voice disorders.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 23-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourdes Bernadete Rocha de SOUZA ◽  
Leandro de Araujo PERNAMBUCO ◽  
Marquiony Marques dos SANTOS ◽  
Joana Cristina Vasconcelos da SILVA

Background : Obese people often have altered breathing patterns and therefore may experience difficulties in voice production. Aim : To verify the presence of vocal complaints and the correlation between the auditory-perceptual analysis of voice and vocal self-assessment of a group of women with morbid obesity before and after bariatric surgery. Methods : A longitudinal, exploratory, descriptive study of 21 morbidly obese women aged between 28 and 68 years, assessed before and after bariatric surgery, was performed. The women filled out a form containing identification data and type of vocal complaint. Perceptual evaluation of voice and vocal self-assessment were performed using a visual analog scale. For perceptual assessment of voice the women were asked to say three sentences from the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice. Results : Of the 21 patients, 14 (66.6%) reported vocal complaints, of which 10 (71%) vocal fatigue, eight (57.14%) voice failures and seven (50%) vocal effort. All participants reported improvements in the voice after surgery, irrespective of having reported vocal complaints before surgery. There was no correlation between vocal self-assessment and auditory-perceptual assessment of the voice before or after the procedure. There was no correlation between vocal self-assessment and perceptual evaluation of the voice before surgery. Conclusion : Obesity interfered with voice production and influenced negative perception and therefore vocal complaints. Complaints about vocal production cannot be perceived by a speech therapist with the same impact as by patients, as both employ different criteria for vocal evaluation. Vocal self-assessment is an important tool in voice evaluation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno L. Giordano ◽  
Whiting Whiting ◽  
Nikolaus Kriegeskorte ◽  
Sonja A. Kotz ◽  
Pascal Belin ◽  
...  

AbstractWhether the human brain represents emotional stimuli as discrete categories or continuous dimensions is still widely debated. Here we directly contrasted the power of categorical and dimensional models at explaining behavior and cerebral activity in the context of perceived emotion in the voice. We combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto-encephalography (MEG) to measure with high spatiotemporal precision the dynamics of cerebral activity in participants who listened to voice stimuli expressing a range of emotions. The participants also provided a detailed perceptual assessment of the stimuli. By using representational similarity analysis (RSA), we show that the participants’ perceptual representation of the stimuli was initially dominated by discrete categories and an early (<200ms) cerebral response. These responses showed significant associations between brain activity and the categorical model in the auditory cortex starting as early as 77ms. Furthermore, we observed strong associations between the arousal and valence dimensions and activity in several cortical and subcortical areas at later latencies (>500ms). Our results thus show that both categorical and dimensional models account for patterns of cerebral responses to emotions in voices but with a different timeline and detail as to how these patterns evolve from discrete categories to progressively refined continuous dimensions.One Sentence Summary: Emotions expressed in the voice are instantly categorized in cortical processing and their distinct qualities are refined dimensionally only later on.


1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Sandra Q. Miller ◽  
Charles L. Madison

The purpose of this article is to show how one urban school district dealt with a perceived need to improve its effectiveness in diagnosing and treating voice disorders. The local school district established semiannual voice clinics. Students aged 5-18 were referred, screened, and selected for the clinics if they appeared to have a chronic voice problem. The specific procedures used in setting up the voice clinics and the subsequent changes made over a 10-year period are presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-614
Author(s):  
Jean Abitbol

The purpose of this article is to update the management of the treatment of the female voice at perimenopause and menopause. Voice and hormones—these are 2 words that clash, meet, and harmonize. If we are to solve this inquiry, we shall inevitably have to understand the hormones, their impact, and the scars of time. The endocrine effects on laryngeal structures are numerous: The actions of estrogens and progesterone produce modification of glandular secretions. Low dose of androgens are secreted principally by the adrenal cortex, but they are also secreted by the ovaries. Their effect may increase the low pitch and decease the high pitch of the voice at menopause due to important diminution of estrogens and the privation of progesterone. The menopausal voice syndrome presents clinical signs, which we will describe. I consider menopausal patients to fit into 2 broad types: the “Modigliani” types, rather thin and slender with little adipose tissue, and the “Rubens” types, with a rounded figure with more fat cells. Androgen derivatives are transformed to estrogens in fat cells. Hormonal replacement therapy should be carefully considered in the context of premenopausal symptom severity as alternative medicine. Hippocrates: “Your diet is your first medicine.”


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