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Vocal impact of a prolonged reading task at two intensity levels: objective measurements and subjective self-ratings
Angélique Remacle1, Camille Finck, Anne Roche
1Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, Unité de Logopédie de la Voix, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. Angelique.Remacle@ulg.ac.be
Objectives:
The objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact on voice of both duration and intensity level of 2 hours of continuous oral reading. Voice modifications accompanying changes in intensity level during prolonged reading tasks are analyzed.
Methods:
Fifty normophonic women undergo two sessions of voice loading in which the required intensity level of voice varied between 60-65 dB(A) for the first session and 70-75 dB(A) for the second session. The effects of loading on objective data (average fundamental frequency [F0], jitter%, shimmer%, noise-to-harmonic ratio, maximum phonation time, lowest frequency [F-Low], highest frequency [F-High], frequency range [Range], lowest intensity [I-Low] level, and highest intensity level) and self-ratings (voice quality, phonation effort, vocal fatigue, and laryngeal discomfort) are assessed every 30 minutes during the loading tasks.
Results:
Results indicate that average F0, F-Low, I-Low, maximum phonation time, feeling of phonation effort, vocal fatigue, and laryngeal discomfort increase during prolonged reading, whereas shimmer% and self-rating of voice quality decrease. Average F0, F-High, and Range are the only parameters influenced by the required intensity of vocal load; they are significantly higher in the 70- to 75-dB session compared with the 60- to 65-dB session. Concerning the subjective self-ratings, similar results for the four ratings used suggest that only one would suffice in future studies.
Conclusions:
These results confirm the importance of both duration and intensity level as loading factors, even if intensity level affects fewer variables than duration.
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