Association between birth control pills and voice quality

Area of Science:

• Speech science
• Endocrinology
• Acoustic analysis

Background:

• Oral contraceptives are widely used by women of reproductive age.
• Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding the impact of oral contraceptives on voice quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of birth control pills on voice quality using comprehensive acoustic analysis.
• To determine if oral contraceptive use impacts vocal acoustic parameters in healthy young women.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal comparative study involving 14 healthy young women over 36-45 days.
• Acoustic analysis of voice samples from 7 oral contraceptive users and 7 non-users, with approximately 20 recordings per participant.
• Utilized advanced acoustic measures including jitter, shimmer, and noise indices.

Main Results:

• Women using birth control pills exhibited better voice quality and stability compared to non-users.
• Most acoustic measures, including jitter and shimmer, showed lower values in the oral contraceptive group, indicating improved vocal function.
• Preliminary evidence suggested vocal changes related to the pre-ovulatory phase.

Conclusions:

• Oral contraceptives do not adversely affect voice quality and may, in fact, improve it based on acoustic measures.
• Observed differences in noise indices suggest sex hormones influence vocal fold activity, potentially affecting vibration regulation.
• Hormonal fluctuations may have a greater impact on vocal fold vibration than on glottal adduction.