Relationship between Intraoral Air Pressure and Vocal Intensity in Children and Adults

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine T. Stathopoulos

Intraoral air pressure (P 0 ) varies as a function of age. Specifically, children produce significantly higher P 0 values than adults. The higher P 0 produced by children has been discussed in relation to age-related volumetric differences of the subglottal and vocal tract, to lung compression differences, and to the fact that children's "comfortable" speaking level might exceed that of adults. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis that children (vs. adults) and women (vs. men) produce higher P 0 values when sound pressure level (SPL) is held constant. Measurements were made of P 0 generated by children and adults during a connected speech task completed at three intensity levels. The findings of the study indicated that (a) peak P 0 values increased as vocal intensity increased for all subject groups, (b) peak P 0 values were higher for voiceless stops than for voiced stops, and (c) peak P 0 values were not significantly different for adults than for children or for men than for women. These results were interpreted to show that despite physical and physiological differences between male and female, and between adult and child vocal tracts, all groups use the same P 0 mechanism for achieving a given vocal intensity level.

1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Hixon ◽  
Fred D. Minifie ◽  
Charles A. Tait

Intraoral air pressure, volume rate of airflow, and sound pressure level were measured during /∫/ and /s/ productions of two speakers. In addition numerical estimates of the loudness of the productions were made by each speaker and by a group of judges. The power laws governing the relations among the parameters of interest are discussed and the results are compared with available data on voice production.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-947
Author(s):  
Teresa L. D. Hardy ◽  
Carol A. Boliek ◽  
Daniel Aalto ◽  
Justin Lewicke ◽  
Kristopher Wells ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify a set of communication-based predictors (including both acoustic and gestural variables) of masculinity–femininity ratings and (b) to explore differences in ratings between audio and audiovisual presentation modes for transgender and cisgender communicators. Method The voices and gestures of a group of cisgender men and women ( n = 10 of each) and transgender women ( n = 20) communicators were recorded while they recounted the story of a cartoon using acoustic and motion capture recording systems. A total of 17 acoustic and gestural variables were measured from these recordings. A group of observers ( n = 20) rated each communicator's masculinity–femininity based on 30- to 45-s samples of the cartoon description presented in three modes: audio, visual, and audio visual. Visual and audiovisual stimuli contained point light displays standardized for size. Ratings were made using a direct magnitude estimation scale without modulus. Communication-based predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings were identified using multiple regression, and analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of presentation mode on perceptual ratings. Results Fundamental frequency, average vowel formant, and sound pressure level were identified as significant predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings for these communicators. Communicators were rated significantly more feminine in the audio than the audiovisual mode and unreliably in the visual-only mode. Conclusions Both study purposes were met. Results support continued emphasis on fundamental frequency and vocal tract resonance in voice and communication modification training with transgender individuals and provide evidence for the potential benefit of modifying sound pressure level, especially when a masculine presentation is desired.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 233121652110244
Author(s):  
A. Josefine Munch Sørensen ◽  
Michal Fereczkowski ◽  
Ewen N. MacDonald

This study provides a framework for measuring conversational dynamics between conversational partners (interlocutors). Conversations from 20 pairs of young, normal-hearing, native-Danish talkers were recorded when speaking in both quiet and noise (70 dBA sound pressure level [SPL]) and in Danish and English. Previous studies investigating the intervals from when one talker stops talking to when the next one starts, termed floor-transfer offsets (FTOs), suggest that typical turn-taking requires interlocutors to predict when the current talker will finish their turn. We hypothesized that adding noise and/or speaking in a second language (L2) would increase the communication difficulty and result in longer and more variable FTOs. The median and interquartile range of FTOs increased slightly in noise, and in L2, there was a small increase in interquartile range but a small decrease in the median of FTO durations. It took the participants longer to complete the task in both L2 and noise, indicating increased communication difficulty. The average duration of interpausal units, that is, units of connected speech surrounded by silences of 180 ms or more, increased by 18% in noise and 8% in L2. These findings suggest that talkers held their turn for longer, allowing more time for speech understanding and planning. In L2, participants spoke slower, and in both L2 and noise, they took fewer turns. These changes in behavior may have offset some of the increased difficulty when communicating in noise or L2. We speculate that talkers prioritize the maintenance of turn-taking timing over other speech measures.


Author(s):  
Michael J. Hammer

Purpose Measures of estimated subglottal air pressure and translaryngeal air flow enable the researcher or clinician to noninvasively assess aerodynamic features related to respiratory and phonatory function. Our goal was to examine the unique relationship between air flow with sound pressure level (SPL) during syllable production while attempting to hold fundamental frequency and subglottal air pressure relatively constant. Method We completed two studies. Study 1: During syllable production, resultant sound pressure level was measured under conditions of constant fundamental frequency and estimated subglottal air pressure while systematically varying translaryngeal air flow. Study 2: During syllable production, resultant sound pressure level and closed quotient (using laryngeal stroboscopy) were measured under conditions of constant fundamental frequency and estimated subglottal air pressure while systematically varying translaryngeal air flow. Results Study 1: Findings suggest a steady increase in sound pressure level with increases in air flow between 25 cc/s and 150 cc/s. Interestingly, relatively stable mean sound pressure level was maintained over a considerable range of air flow values between 225 and 450 cc/s, suggesting that air flow could be further increased without a marked loss of sound pressure level. Study 2: Findings suggest a systematic increase in mean sound pressure level as supraglottic activity subsided and as the closed quotient decreased from 0.80 to 0.58. Interestingly, sound pressure level was relatively stable as the closed quotient decreased from 0.58 to 0.35. Conclusions Our findings suggest that sound pressure level can be maintained over a considerable range of increasing translaryngeal air flow values and over a considerable range of decreasing closed quotient values. These results provide motivation for investigating the interaction between air flow, glottal closure, and sound pressure level among other measures of phonatory function, with important clinical implications for therapeutic approaches that emphasize increases in air flow and focus on reducing contact between the vocal folds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomás Sierra-Polanco ◽  
Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva ◽  
Eric J. Hunter ◽  
Pasquale Bottalico

The physical production of speech level dynamic range is directly affected by the physiological features of the speaker such as vocal tract size and lung capacity; however, the regulation of these production systems is affected by the perception of the communication environment and auditory feedback. The current study examined the effects of room acoustics in an artificial setting on voice production in terms of sound pressure level and the relationship with the perceived vocal comfort and vocal control. Three independent room acoustic parameters were considered: gain (alteration of the sidetone or playback of one’s own voice), reverberation time, and background noise. An increase in the sidetone led to a decrease in vocal sound pressure levels, thus increasing vocal comfort and vocal control. This effect was consistent in the different reverberation times considered. Mid-range reverberation times (T30 ≈ 1.3 s) led to a decrease in vocal sound pressure level along with an increase in vocal comfort and vocal control, however, the effect of the reverberation time was smaller than the effect of the gain. The presence of noise amplified the aforementioned effects for the variables analyzed.


1970 ◽  
Vol 47 (1A) ◽  
pp. 104-104
Author(s):  
W. S. Brown ◽  
Robert E. McGlone ◽  
William R. Proffit

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