Acoustic analysis of female voices from childhood to menopause

ABSTRACT

The female human larynx is affected by various factors, some of which are age, development, diseases and medications. Also her life cycle is strongly related to hormonal changes. Varying dynamics of the three sex hormones [progesterone, estrogen and androgen] unfold at different life phases, starting at puberty fluctuating during reproductive years and dramatically declining at menopause. The aim of this work was to study objectively the physiological voice changes that occur throughout the female lifespan using acoustic analysis. Hundred healthy females were randomly selected from the outpatient clinic of the Phoniatric Unit in Kasr El-Aini Hospital. All females were healthy family members of children paying regular visits to the outpatient clinic. The females were then divided into four major groups according to age. Results showed that children had the highest mean fundamental frequency levels, while adolescents had the highest degree of voice instability. Finally postmenopausal females showed a significant drop in their mean fundamental frequency