scholarly journals Potential link between playing wind instruments and vocal tract disorders. A literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 293-298
Author(s):  
Piotr Artur Machowiec ◽  
Marcela Maksymowicz ◽  
Gabriela Ręka ◽  
Halina Piecewicz-Szczęsna
Keyword(s):  
Web Of Science ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Wind Instruments ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Current State ◽  
Percussion Instruments ◽  
Potential Link ◽  
Perturbation Parameters

Introduction and purpose: Currently, we can distinguish three basic groups of instruments. These are wind instruments, percussion instruments, and plucked instruments. In the case of wind instruments, the source of sound is a vibrating column of air, which is created by blowing by the player. It is suspected that such vibration may cause specific vocal and laryngeal symptoms. The aim of the study was to present the current state of knowledge regarding the potential relation between playing wind instruments and vocal tract disorders. Material and methods: The article reviews 19 publications available on the PubMed and Google Scholar, Web of Science databases meeting assumed criteria: published as a full text, without time limit and conducted on humans. The studies were found using initially established searching strategies as well as subsequent manual searching in order not to miss adequate articles. State of knowledge: Laryngeal symptoms may be combined with vocal symptoms. The main raised vocal manifestations among instrumentalists are dysphonia, hoarseness, and altered voice quality. Comparing a group that used wind instruments with control, VHI-10 (Voice Handicap Index) and F0 (fundamental frequency) and HNR (harmonics-to-noise ratio) were higher while jitter % and shimmer %, which are perturbation parameters, were lower in the study group. The majority of studies has a limitation because they were performed in a limited number of volunteers. Conclusions: The symptoms of the vocal tract related to playing wind instruments are characterized by a low frequency of occurrence and intensity. However, further research is needed to assess this relation.

Does neuromonitoring affect voice quality in patients subjected to a complete thyroidectomy ?

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Piotr Bryk ◽  
Stanislaw Głuszek
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injury ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Laryngeal Nerves ◽  
Vocal Fold Palsy ◽  
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerves ◽  
The Voice

Voice dysfunction is the most common complication of thyroid surgery. The use of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is to protect the recurrent laryngeal nerves, the damage of which causes voice dysfunction. The aim of the study was to evaluate voice quality in patients who underwent complete thyroidectomy operated on with the application of IONM as well as a group of patients operated on with only macroscopic nerve visualization. In the analysis, clinical voice assessment was performed with particular focus on voice efficiency using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Vocal Tract Discomfort (VTD) and GRBAS scale. The study group consisted of 205 patients operated on with IONM. The control group consisted of 162 patients subjected to surgery only with macroscopic visualization of recurrent laryngeal nerves, without IONM. During the follow-up period from 2 to 10 years after surgery, checkups were performed. Each patient who came for a checkup was subjected to perceptual voice evaluation with the use of the GRBAS scale, indirect laryngoscopy procedure and voice selfevaluation with two questionnaires (VHI and VTD). The frequency of vocal fold palsy did not differ significantly statistically in the study group and the control group. Both in the study group and in the control group, patients with vocal fold paralysis had statistically significantly higher results in the VHI and VTD questionnaires as well as in the GRBAS study. Patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury show significant differences in the scope of voice handicap, both in the voice quality assessment with the use of the GRBAS scale, and self-evaluation questionnaires: VHI and VTD. All voice disorders evaluated with self-assessment are medium voice disability.

scholarly journals Modelling of Amplitude Modulated Vocal Fry Glottal Area Waveforms Using an Analysis-by-Synthesis Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1990
Author(s):  
Vinod Devaraj ◽  
Philipp Aichinger
Keyword(s):  
Voice Quality ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Voice Disorder ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Svm Classifier ◽  
Power Spectral ◽  
Analysis By Synthesis ◽  
Simple Support ◽  
Frequency Modulations ◽  
Synthesis Approach

The characterization of voice quality is important for the diagnosis of a voice disorder. Vocal fry is a voice quality which is traditionally characterized by a low frequency and a long closed phase of the glottis. However, we also observed amplitude modulated vocal fry glottal area waveforms (GAWs) without long closed phases (positive group) which we modelled using an analysis-by-synthesis approach. Natural and synthetic GAWs are modelled. The negative group consists of euphonic, i.e., normophonic GAWs. The analysis-by-synthesis approach fits two modelled GAWs for each of the input GAW. One modelled GAW is modulated to replicate the amplitude and frequency modulations of the input GAW and the other modelled GAW is unmodulated. The modelling errors of the two modelled GAWs are determined to classify the GAWs into the positive and the negative groups using a simple support vector machine (SVM) classifier with a linear kernel. The modelling errors of all vocal fry GAWs obtained using the modulating model are smaller than the modelling errors obtained using the unmodulated model. Using the two modelling errors as predictors for classification, no false positives or false negatives are obtained. To further distinguish the subtypes of amplitude modulated vocal fry GAWs, the entropy of the modulator’s power spectral density and the modulator-to-carrier frequency ratio are obtained.

scholarly journals Impact of Vocal Tract Resonance on the Perception of Voice Quality Changes Caused by Varying Vocal Fold Stiffness

2016 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosario Signorello ◽  
Zhaoyan Zhang ◽  
Bruce Gerratt ◽  
Jody Kreiman
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Quality Changes ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance

scholarly journals A Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Voice Therapy Protocols

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara R. Kapsner-Smith ◽  
Eric J. Hunter ◽  
Kimberly Kirkham ◽  
Karin Cox ◽  
Ingo R. Titze
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Voice Handicap Index ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Therapy Program

PurposeAlthough there is a long history of use of semi-occluded vocal tract gestures in voice therapy, including phonation through thin tubes or straws, the efficacy of phonation through tubes has not been established. This study compares results from a therapy program on the basis of phonation through a flow-resistant tube (FRT) with Vocal Function Exercises (VFE), an established set of exercises that utilize oral semi-occlusions.MethodTwenty subjects (16 women, 4 men) with dysphonia and/or vocal fatigue were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: (a) immediate FRT therapy, (b) immediate VFE therapy, (c) delayed FRT therapy, or (d) delayed VFE therapy. Subjects receiving delayed therapy served as a no-treatment control group.ResultsVoice Handicap Index (Jacobson et al., 1997) scores showed significant improvement for both treatment groups relative to the no-treatment group. Comparison of the effect sizes suggests FRT therapy is noninferior to VFE in terms of reduction in Voice Handicap Index scores. Significant reductions in Roughness on the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (Kempster, Gerratt, Verdolini Abbott, Barkmeier-Kraemer, & Hillman, 2009) were found for the FRT subjects, with no other significant voice quality findings.ConclusionsVFE and FRT therapy may improve voice quality of life in some individuals with dysphonia. FRT therapy was noninferior to VFE in improving voice quality of life in this study.

scholarly journals Resonator properties of paranasal sinuses: preliminary results of an anatomical study

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-182
Author(s):  
M. Havel ◽  
L. Ertl ◽  
D. Bauer ◽  
M. Schuster ◽  
K. Stelter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Paranasal Sinuses ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Anatomical Study ◽  
Sinus Surgery ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Middle Meatus ◽  
Frequency Responses ◽  
Direct Exposure ◽  
Sine Tone

Background: The contribution of the nasal and paranasal cavities to vocal tract resonator properties is unclear as are voice effects of sinus surgery. Here we investigate resonance phenomena of paranasal sinuses with and without selective occlusion of the middle meatus and maxillary ostium in a cadaver. Methodology: Nasal and paranasal cavities of a Thiel-embalmed cadaver were excited by sine-tone sweeps from an earphone in the epipharynx. The response was picked up by a microphone at the nostrils. Different conditions with blocked and unblocked middle meatus were tested. Additionally, infundibulotomy was performed allowing direct access to and selective occlusion of the maxillary ostium. Results: Responses showed high reproducibility. Minor effects appeared after removal of meatal occlusion. A marked low frequency dip was detected after removal of occlusion of maxillary ostium following infundibulotomy. Conclusion: Reproducible frequency responses of nasal tract can be derived from cadaver measurements. Marked acoustic effects of the maxillary sinus appeared only after direct exposure of the maxillary ostium following infundibulotomy.

Speech-Based Clinical Diagnostic Systems

2011 ◽  
pp. 1439-1446
Author(s):  
Jesús Bernardino Alonso Hernández ◽  
Patricia Henríquez Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Speech Signal ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Quality Measurement ◽  
Vocal Folds ◽  
Speech Quality ◽  
Diagnostic Systems ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Clinical Measurements

It is possible to implement help systems for diagnosis oriented to the evaluation of the fonator system using speech signal, by means of techniques based on expert systems. The application of these techniques allows the early detection of alterations in the fonator system or the temporary evaluation of patients with certain treatment, to mention some examples. The procedure of measuring the voice quality of a speaker from a digital recording consists of quantifying different acoustic characteristics of speech, which makes it possible to compare it with certain reference patterns, identified previously by a “clinical expert”. A speech acoustic quality measurement based on an auditory assessment is very hard to assess as a comparative reference amongst different voices and different human experts carrying out the assessment or evaluation. In the current bibliography, some attempts have been made to obtain objective measures of speech quality by means of multidimensional clinical measurements based on auditory methods. Well-known examples are: GRBAS scale from Japon (Hirano, M.,1981) and its extension developed and applied in Europe (Dejonckere, P. H. Remacle, M. Fresnel-Elbaz, E. Woisard, V. Crevier- Buchman, L. Millet, B.,1996), a set of perceptual and acoustic characteristics in Sweden (Hammarberg, B. & Gauffin, J., 1995), a set of phonetics characteristics with added information about the excitement of the vocal tract. The aim of these (quality speech measurements) procedures is to obtain an objective measurement from a subjective evaluation. There exist different works in which objective measurements of speech quality obtained from a recording are proposed (Alonso J. B.,2006), (Boyanov, B & Hadjitodorov, S., 1997),(Hansen, J.H.L., Gavidia-Ceballos, L. & Kaiser, J.F., 1998),(Stefan Hadjitodorov & Petar Mitev, 2002),(Michaelis D.; Frohlich M. & Strube H. W. ,1998),(Boyanov B., Doskov D., Mitev P., Hadjitodorov S. & Teston B.,2000),(Godino-Llorente, J.I.; Aguilera-Navarro, S. & Gomez-Vilda, P. , 2000). In these works a voiced sustained sound (usually a vowel) is recorded and then used to compute speech quality measurements. The utilization of a voiced sustained sound is due to the fact that during the production of this kind of sound, the speech system uses almost all its mechanisms (glottal flow of constant air, vocal folds vibration in a continuous way, …), enabling us to detect any anomaly in these mechanisms. In these works different sets of measurements are suggested in order to quantify speech quality objectively. In all these works one important fact is revealed; it is necessary to obtain different measurements of the speech signal in order to compile the different aspects of acoustic characteristics of the speech signal.

Impact of speech therapy on the improvement of voice quality in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Anna Kuligowska ◽  
Barbara Jamróz ◽  
Joanna Chmielewska ◽  
Katarzyna Jędra ◽  
Tomasz Czernicki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Maximum Phonation Time ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Vocal Fold Palsy ◽  
The Voice

Aim of study: Evaluation of the speech therapy on voice quality in patients with unilateral vocal fold palsy. Material and methods: The study group included 11 patients, 8 women and 3 men, in age between 16 to 72 years, with unilateral vocal fold palsy, diagnosed in ENT Department of Warsaw Medical University between 2017-2018. Each person completed questionnaires: the voice disability self-assessment scale (VHI), the voice-based quality of life (VRQoL) scale, the vocal tract discomfort scale (VTD). All questionnaires were completed twice, before and after the voice therapy. In addition, the acoustic analysis of the voice, the assessment of the maximum phonation time and the breathing tract were performed twice in each patient. Each of the patients had a voice rehabilitation consisting of a series of 10 meetings. Results: Statistical analysis of the results of maximum phonation time, the self-assessment of voice disability, the quality of life depending on the voice, discomfort of the vocal tract voice acoustic analysis showed statistically significant differences in the results before and after rehabilitation (p <0.005). In addition, the improvement of the respiratory tract was observed in the majority of patients. Conclusions: Speech therapy significantly affects the voice quality of patients with unilateral laryngeal nerve palsy.

Frequency and Heritability of WT1 Mutations in Nonsyndromic Wilms' Tumor Patients: A UK Children’s Cancer Study Group Study

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 4140-4146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne E. Little ◽  
Sandra P. Hanks ◽  
Linda King-Underwood ◽  
Chris Jones ◽  
Elizabeth A. Rapley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
De Novo ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Wilms Tumor ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Heteroduplex Analysis ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Histologic Subtype ◽  
Cancer Study ◽  
Cancer Study Group ◽  
Wt1 Mutation

Purpose Constitutional WT1 mutations in patients with Wilms' tumor (WT) have specifically been associated with genitourinary abnormalities, such as cryptorchidism and hypospadias. We sought to ascertain the frequency and heritability of constitutional WT1 mutations in nonsyndromic WT patients. Patients and Methods Constitutional DNA from 282 patients treated at seven United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group centers was screened for WT1 mutations using heteroduplex analysis. Bidirectional sequencing was used to confirm the mutation and to analyze the corresponding parental DNA samples. Results Five different constitutional WT1 mutations were identified in six children. Mutations in four patients were confirmed to be de novo, and all five mutations are predicted to produce truncated protein. The WT1 mutation group had a young median age at diagnosis of 13.8 months, compared with 34.9 months in the group in whom no WT1 mutations were found; four were female and two were male; and all tumors were of favorable histology. The three tumors with known histologic subtype were stromal-predominant. Contrary to expectation, four of six mutations occurred in children with unilateral tumors without any associated genitourinary abnormality. Conclusion Constitutional WT1 mutations occur with a low frequency (2.1%; 95% CI, 0.8% to 4.6%) in nonsyndromic WT patients. Most mutations occurred in children with unilateral WT without associated genitourinary abnormalities, creating difficulties in identifying individuals with germline mutations on phenotype alone. Two factors that may indicate that an individual is carrying a germline WT1 mutation are an early age of onset and stromal-predominant histology of the WT.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document