To improve ecological validity, perceptual and instrumental assessment of disordered voice, including overall voice quality, should ideally sample both sustained vowels and continuous speech. This investigation assessed the utility of combining both voice contexts for the purpose of auditory-perceptual ratings as well as acoustic measurement of overall voice quality. Sustained vowel and continuous speech samples from 251 subjects with (n=229) or without (n=22) various voice disorders ...

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to (1) evaluate the performance of the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID--a multivariate estimate of dysphonia severity) as a potential screening tool for voice disorder identification and (2) identify potential clinical cutoff scores to classify voice-disordered cases versus controls.

METHODOLOGY: Subjects were 332 men and women (116 men, 216 women) comprised of subjects who presented to a physician with a voice-related complaint and ...

OBJECTIVES: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease which may adversely affect phonatory function. This study aimed to establish the prevalence, risks, and quality of life effects of voice disorders in RA.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive epidemiology study.

METHODS: One hundred individuals with RA underwent a telephone interview to determine the frequency, severity, risks associated with, and quality of life burden of voice disorders. The ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the strength of relationship between impairment-level acoustic measures derived from spectral- and cepstral-based analyses (including the cepstral peak prominence [CPP]; ratios of low vs high frequency spectral energy; and the respective standard deviations [SDs] for these measures) and a disablement measure (the total Voice Handicap Index [VHI] score) in a large and diverse group of voice-disordered and control subjects. The ...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the validity of the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) as an objective treatment outcomes measure of dysphonia severity.

METHOD: Pre- and posttreatment samples of sustained vowel and connected speech productions were elicited from 112 patients across six diagnostic categories: unilateral vocal fold paralysis, adductor spasmodic dysphonia, primary muscle tension dysphonia, benign vocal fold lesions, presbylaryngis, and mutational falsetto. Listener ratings ...

PURPOSE: This epidemiological study compared the frequency and adverse effects of voice disorders in Brazilian teachers and nonteachers.

METHODS: A standardized interview/questionnaire was administered to 3,265 participants; 1,651 teachers; and 1,614 nonteachers recruited from all 27 Brazilian states.

RESULTS: Prevalence of reporting a current voice disorder was 11.6% for teachers and 7.5% for nonteachers, respectively (χ2(1)=16.1, P<0.001). Sixty-three percent of teachers and 35.8% of ...

Over 3 million teachers in the United States use their voice as a primary tool of trade and are thought to be at higher risk for occupation-related voice disorders than the general population. However, estimates regarding the prevalence of voice disorders in teachers and the general population vary considerably. To determine the extent that teachers are at greater risk for voice disorders, 2,531 randomly selected participants from Iowa and Utah (1,243 teachers and 1,288 nonteachers) were ...

OBJECTIVES: The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) are two multiparameter acoustic indices designed to objectively estimate dysphonia severity and track treatment outcomes. This study compared the performance of these two indices using a common corpus of dysphonic speakers.

METHOD: Pre- and posttreatment samples of sustained vowel and connected speech were elicited from 112 patients across six diagnostic categories: unilateral vocal ...

OBJECTIVES: Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) has been characterized as a "task specific" laryngeal dystonia, meaning that the severity of dysphonia varies depending on the demands of the vocal task. Voice produced in connected speech as compared with sustained vowels is said to provoke more frequent and severe laryngeal spasms. This study examined the diagnostic value of "task specificity" as a marker of ADSD and its potential to differentiate ADSD from muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), ...

OBJECTIVES: Epidemiologic studies of the prevalence and risk factors of voice disorders in the general adult population are rare. The purpose of this investigation was to 1) determine the prevalence of voice disorders, 2) identify variables associated with increased risk of voice disorders, and 3) establish the functional impact of voice disorders on the general population.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional telephone survey.

METHODS: A random sample (n = 1,326) of adults in Iowa and Utah was ...

PURPOSE: Auditory-perceptual evaluation of dysphonia may be influenced by the type of speech/voice task used to render judgements during the clinical evaluation, i.e., sustained vowels versus continuous speech. This study explored (a) differences in listener dysphonia severity ratings on the basis of speech/voice tasks, (b) the influence of speech/voice task on dysphonia severity ratings of stimuli that combined sustained vowels and continuous speech, and (c) the differences in ...

OBJECTIVE: Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) is characterized by a strained-strangled voice quality, whose diagnosis relies exclusively on auditory-perceptual features. However, muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) -- a functional voice disorder -- can mimic ADSD thereby contributing to diagnostic confusion. Unlike MTD, ADSD has been described as 'task-specific', implying that certain vocal tasks such as sentences loaded with predominantly voiced consonants will provoke greater sign ...

This epidemiological investigation examined the prevalence, risk factors, and quality-of-life effects of swallowing disorders in Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). One hundred and one individuals with primary or secondary SS (94 females, 7 males; mean age 59.4, SD = 14.1) were interviewed regarding the presence, nature, and impact of swallowing disorders and symptoms. Associations among swallowing disorders and symptoms, select medical and social history factors, SS disease severity, and the M.D. ...

Voice clinicians require an objective, reliable, and relatively automatic method to assess voice change after medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention. This measure must be sensitive to a variety of voice qualities and severities, and preferably should reflect voice in continuous speech. The long-term average spectrum (LTAS) is a fast Fourier transform-generated power spectrum whose properties can be compared with a Gaussian bell curve using spectral moments analysis. Four spectral ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Distinguishing muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) from adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) can be difficult. Unlike MTD, ADSD is described as "task-dependent," implying that dysphonia severity varies depending upon the demands of the vocal task, with connected speech thought to be more symptomatic than sustained vowels. This study used an acoustic index of dysphonia severity (i.e., the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia [CSID]) to: 1) assess the value of "task ...