Floyd W. Emanuel

Spectral noise and vocal roughness relationships in adults with laryngeal pathology

Twenty adult males, presenting laryngeal pathology, each produced five vowels and two sentences for tape recording. Individual recordings were then rated for roughness on a 5-point equal-appearing intervals scale. Each vowel production was also analyzed spectrographically. High, positive correlations (multiple r) were obtained between vowel spectral noise measures (dB SPL) and median roughness ratings for the vowels and sentences. The findings, similar to those previously reported for subjects without pathology, suggest that the relationships shown are independent of laryngeal health. Vowel spectral noise measures appear to provide a useful quantitative index of vocal roughness in vowels and connected speech.

Spectral noise level measurements used to track voice improvement in one patient

In this report we present one example of the utilization of an acoustic measurement to aid in describing voice roughness objectively in a clinical context. Vowel spectral noise level (SNL) and fundamental voice frequency (F0) measurements were acquired for five sustained vowels produced by one patient having bilateral vocal fold nodules. The measurements were obtained at specific time intervals while the patient underwent voice therapy. Clinically observed changes over the course of therapy included an improvement in perceived voice quality, a general reduction in vowel SNL, and an increase in vowel F0. These observations were accompanied by visually detected laryngeal tissue changes. The results suggest that acoustic SNL measurements can be employed clinically to verify and support perceptual judgments of voice quality.

Some spectrographic and perceptual features of vocal fry, abnormally rough and modal register vowel phonations

Abstract Twenty normal-speaking young adult males phonated (at one intensity) in modal register, with simulated abnormal vocal roughness, and in vocal fry register each of the five test vowels, /u/, /i/, /^/, /a/ and /ae/. Each test production was rated for roughness by a panel of 11 listeners; a median of the ratings for each production was then obtained. Additionally, the acoustic wave of each production was analyzed to produce a narrow-band (3 Hz) intensity-by-frequency acoustic spectrum in which multiple (25) measures of spectral noise (inharmonic component) level were obtained. For each test vowel, the median roughness ratings for fry productions were similar in magnitude to those for simulated abnormally rough productions and exceeded (P