Aerodynamic Mechanisms Underlying Treatment-Related Changes in Vocal Intensity in Patients With Parkinson Disease

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 798-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Olson Ramig ◽  
Christopher Dromey
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Maximum Flow ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Vocal Intensity

The purpose of this study was to document changes in aerodynamic and glottographic aspects of vocal function in patients with Parkinson disease who received two forms of high effort treatment. Previous reports (Ramig, Countryman, Thompson, & Horii, 1995) have documented increased sound pressure level (SPL) following treatment that trained phonation and respiration (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment: LSVT), but not for treatment that trained respiration only (R). In order to examine the mechanisms underlying these differences, measures of maximum flow declination rate (MFDR) and estimated subglottal pressure (Psub) were made before and after treatment. A measure of relative vocal fold adduction (EGGW) was made from the electroglottographic signal during sustained vowel phonation. Sound pressure level data from syllable repetition, sustained vowel phonation, reading, and monologue tasks were also analyzed to allow a more detailed understanding of treatment-related change in several contexts. Consistent with increases in SPL, significant increases in MFDR, estimated Psub, and EGGW were measured posttreatment in patients who received the LSVT. Similar changes were not observed following R treatment. These findings suggest that the combination of increased vocal fold adduction and subglottal pressure is a key in generating posttreatment increases in vocal intensity in idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD).

Phonatory and Articulatory Changes Associated With Increased Vocal Intensity in Parkinson Disease: A Case Study

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dromey ◽  
Lorraine Olson Ramig ◽  
Antonia B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Maximum Flow ◽  
Intensity Change ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Syllable Repetition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Whole Word

This study examined changes in voice and speech production in a patient with Parkinson disease as he increased vocal intensity following 1 month of intensive voice treatment. Phonatory function and articulatory acoustic measures were made before and after treatment as well as 6 and 12 months later. Pre- to post-treatment increases were documented in sound pressure level in sustained phonation, syllable repetition, reading, and monologue. Consistent with mechanisms of intensity change reported in normal speakers, corresponding improvements were measured in estimated subglottal pressure, maximum flow declination rate, laryngeal airway resistance, open quotient, EGGW-25, harmonic-spectral slope, and maximum vowel duration. Measures of phonatory stability in sustained phonation and semitone standard deviation in reading and speaking showed changes accompanying increased vocal intensity. In addition, changes were measured in articulatory acoustic parameters (vowel and whole word duration, transition duration, extent and rate, and frication duration and rise time) in single-word productions. These findings indicate that this patient increased his vocal intensity using phonatory mechanisms that have been associated with the nondisordered larynx. In addition, the increased vocal intensity led to changes in articulation that were not targeted in treatment.

Temporary Threshold Shift from a Toy Cap Gun

1974 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Marshall ◽  
John F. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Threshold Shift ◽  
Temporary Threshold Shift ◽  
Fixed Frequency ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Subject

Temporary threshold shift resulting from exposure to one and five toy cap gun pistol shots was investigated using 11 normal-hearing adult subjects and one subject with a noise-induced hearing loss. The subjects fired the cap gun at arm’s length, and absolute thresholds at 4000 Hz were obtained before and after noise exposure by a fixed-frequency Bekesy technique. After exposure to one gunshot, five subjects showed a small TTS, five demonstrated no TTS, and two (including the subject with the hearing loss) exhibited negative TTS. No TTS occurred in any of the subjects after exposure to five shots. It was postulated that the small amount of TTS was due to the unexpectedly low sound pressure level produced by the cap gun and to the contraction of the middle ear muscles in some subjects prior to firing.

Control of Vocal Loudness in Young and Old Adults

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin K. Baker ◽  
Lorraine Olson Ramig ◽  
Shimon Sapir ◽  
Erich S. Luschei ◽  
Marshall E. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory System ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Subglottal Pressure ◽  
Young Subjects ◽  
Laryngeal Emg

This study examined the effect of aging on respiratory and laryngeal mechanisms involved in vocal loudness control. Simultaneous measures of subglottal pressure and electromyographic (EMG) activity from the thyroarytenoid (TA), lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA), and cricothyroid (CT) muscles were investigated in young and old individuals while they attempted to phonate at three loudness levels, "soft," "comfortable," and "loud." Voice sound pressure level (SPL) and fundamental frequency (F 0 ) measures were also obtained. Across loudness conditions, subglottal pressure levels were similar for both age groups. Laryngeal EMG measures tended to be lower and more variable for old compared with young individuals. These differences were most apparent for the TA muscle. Finally, across the three loudness conditions, the old individuals generated SPLs that were lower overall than those produced by the young individuals but modulated loudness levels in a manner similar to that of the young subjects. These findings suggest that the laryngeal mechanism may be more affected than the respiratory system in these old individuals and that these changes may affect vocal loudness levels.

Vocal Sound Pressure Level and Self-Perception of Speech and Voice in Men and Women With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia M. Fox ◽  
Lorraine Olson Ramig
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Healthy Men ◽  
Idiopathic Parkinson Disease ◽  
Assessment And Treatment

This study compared vocal sound pressure level (SPL) and self-perception of speech and voice in men and women with idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD) and in healthy men and women. Thirty subjects with PD (15 men, 15 women) and 14 healthy comparison (HC) subjects (7 men, 7 women) participated in the study. They performed a variety of speech and voice tasks and carried out perceptual self-ratings of nine speech and voice characteristics. To assess performance stability, subjects repeated the data collection procedures on 3 different days. Results revealed that subjects with PD were statistically significantly lower in vocal SPL (2.0–4.0 dB SPL; 30 cm) during speech and voice tasks than HC subjects. Repeated measures across sessions revealed that subjects with PD were not significantly more unstable than HC subjects in their day-to-day performance for all variables examined. In addition, subjects with PD rated themselves as statistically significantly more severely impaired than HC subjects on all nine self-rated perceptual variables examined. These data provide additional descriptive information on speech and voice characteristics in people with PD and may be useful in assessment and treatment planning for this population.

Medial Arytenoidectomy versus Transverse Cordotomy as a Treatment for Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

2005 ◽  
Vol 114 (12) ◽  
pp. 922-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Bosley ◽  
Clark A. Rosen ◽  
C. Blake Simpson ◽  
Brian T. McMullin ◽  
Jackie L. Gartner-Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Vocal Fold Paralysis ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Voice Handicap Index ◽  
Index Score ◽  
Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis ◽  
Swallowing Difficulties

Objectives: Transverse cordotomy (TC) and medial arytenoidectomy (MA) are procedures performed to enlarge the glottic airway in patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVFP). Both are less destructive than total arytenoidectomy and have distinct theoretical advantages for voice preservation, but they have never been compared. Methods: The records of patients with BVFP treated with TC or MA were reviewed; information regarding the outcome measures of tracheotomy decannulation, dysphagia, Voice Handicap Index score, voice intensity, clinical course, and preoperative and postoperative voice quality was obtained. Results: Seventeen patients were available for evaluation (11 with TC, 6 with MA). All 6 patients with a preoperative tracheotomy were decannulated. Four patients in the MA group and 2 in the TC group had an increase in their postoperative Voice Handicap Index score. Two of the patients in the MA group had a decrease in phonatory sound pressure level of 3 dB, and 1 in the TC group had a decrease of 2 dB sound pressure level. Patient self-report of airway status following TC or MA showed that 62.5% (10 of 16) were significantly better and 25% (4 of 16) were somewhat better. Blinded audio perceptual analysis comparing preoperative and postoperative voice quality showed no difference between the MA and TC groups. A swallowing quality-of-life instrument confirmed a lack of swallowing difficulties postoperatively. Conclusions: Both TC and MA are good treatment options for BVFP, with a low incidence of complications in postoperative voice or of swallowing difficulties and a consistent improvement of laryngeal airway restriction symptoms.

Development Work on Steam Vent Pipe Silencing

1979 ◽  
Vol 193 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-251
Author(s):  
J. K. Clayton ◽  
S. H. Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Development Work ◽  
Light Weight ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Pipe Outlet

The paper describes the practical steps taken in the development of a light-weight steam discharge silencer, mounted at the outlet of the vent pipe. With various degrees of valve throttling of superheater start-up valves as well as safety valves, the sound pressure level (SPL) effects at the vent pipe outlet were analysed before and after silencing. Various configurations of the silencer were tested on steam discharge, some resulted in increased attenuation. Throughout the development programme, steam flow rates were measured along with SPL.

Contributions of Voice and Nonverbal Communication to Perceived Masculinity–Femininity for Cisgender and Transgender Communicators

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-947
Author(s):  
Teresa L. D. Hardy ◽  
Carol A. Boliek ◽  
Daniel Aalto ◽  
Justin Lewicke ◽  
Kristopher Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Presentation Modes ◽  
Audiovisual Stimuli ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance ◽  
Point Light

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.

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