ABSTRACT
Objective : To obtain normative data for nasalance scores in Middle Eastern English-speaking adult population
Design : Cross-sectional study
Participants : A total of 102 subjects were recruited in the study, 26 were excluded, thus, 77 Middle Eastern English-speaking adults [mean age = 23.77 +/- 4.295 ; 39 males, 38 females] with normal speech and no hearing problems participated in the study
Interventions: Using Nasometer II 6450, nasalance scores were obtained for each participant's readings of 3 passages: Zoo and Rainbow passages and nasal sentences
Main outcome measures : Mean nasalance score, standard deviation and range
Results : Mean nasalance scores for Zoo passage, Rainbow passage and nasal sentences were 25.21 +/- 11.07, 34.04 +/- 9.30 and 41.29 +/- 9.87 respectively. Mean scores didn't differ significantly between males and females, though scores for the Zoo passage were slightly higher among males [26.51 +/- 11.66] than females [23.87 +/- 10.42]. In within-session reliability testing, 86% of retests for all three passages fell within 5 nasalance points of the previous test. In across-session reliability testing, 93% of retests for all 3 passages were within 5 points of initial test
Conclusions and Relevance: This study provides normative data for nasalance scores among Middle-Eastern adults, which can help make nasometer and determination of nasalance more clinically useful in this population