Frame by frame analysis of glottic closure in fasting subjects

Objective: The purpose of the study is to examine vocal fold closure in fasting subjects using frame by frame analysis

Subjects and Methods: Twenty-two male subjects were recruited for this study. All subjects were evaluated while fasting and non fasting. Frame by frame analysis of at least three glottic cycles was performed and reported as a mean closed quotient. The degree of phonatory effort and vocal fatigue was also reported

Results: The mean closed quotient for all subjects while non fasting was 0.427 +/- 0.098 and while fasting 0.441 +/- 0.073, with no significant difference between the two [p value 0.417]. There was a significant increase in the phonatory effort while fasting [0.23 non fasting vs. 0.77 fasting, p value 0.036]

Conclusion: There is no change in the mean closed quotient in male subjects while fasting. However, most subjects exhibit a significant increase in phonatory effort

Vocal Symptoms and Acoustic Findings in Menopausal Women in Comparison to Pre-menopause Women with Body Mass Index as a Confounding Variable

OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of phonatory symptoms in menopausal women compared to pre-menopause women with body mass index (BMI) as a confounding variable. METHODS: A total of 69 women, 34 menopausal and 35 pre-menopausal were invited to participate in this study. Demographic variables included age, smoking, and BMI. All subjects were asked about the presence hoarseness, loss of high or low frequencies, pitch breaks, throat clearing, dryness in the throat and vocal fatigue. Acoustic analysis was performed and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI)-10 was filled by all the subjects. RESULTS: There was a significantly higher prevalence of throat clearing and dryness in the menopausal group compared to the pre-menopause group with a P value of 0.035 and 0.032 respectively. When BMI was taken into account, there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of any of the phonatory symptoms in menopausal women with high BMI and pre-menopause. There was no statistically significant difference in the means of any of the acoustic parameters between the menopausal group and pre-menopausal group. There was no significant difference in the mean VHI-10 between the menopause group and the pre-menopause (P = 0.652). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this investigation substantiate the importance of fat as an alternative source of estrogen which can mask some of the phonatory symptoms.

Nasalance scores in Lebanese English- speaking adults using nasometric analysis

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

Formant characteristics of English-speaking Lebanese men

Objective : To report the formant characteristics of English-speaking Lebanese men during steady prolongation of vowels /a/ and /i/

Design : Cross-sectional study involving volunteer participants

Participants : Fifty healthy English-speaking males with a mean age of 32 +/- 4.027 years and a range of 42 years [18-60]

Materials and Methods : A total of 50 healthy males between the age of 18 and 60 were recruited for the study. Each subject was asked to phonate a sustained /a/ and /i/ sound at a comfortable pitch and intensity level. Measures were made in real-time and formant frequencies across F1, F2, F3 and F4 were determined using the Real-time Spectrogram VP 3950 [Kay Elemetrics, New Jersey]

Main outcome measures : The formant frequencies across F1, F2, F3 and F4 were recorded

Results: For the vowel /a/, the mean values of F1, F2, F3 and F4 were 622.86 +/- 61.293 Hz, 1264 +/- 78.602 Hz, 2610.90 +/- 206.359Hz and 3483.56 +/- 206.833 Hz, respectively. For the vowel /i/, the corresponding values were 378.88 +/- 51.825 Hz, 2210.34 +/- 124.077 Hz, 2847 +/- 168.770 Hz and 3576.82 +/- 242.760 Hz, respectively

Conclusion: Formant characteristics vary among cultures and ethnic groups