Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
Published on: August 9, 2024
Multidimensional Voice Data on Participants With Perceptually Normal Voices From Ages 60 to 80: A Preliminary
Natalie Schaeffer1, Melissa Knudsen1, Ashley Small1
1Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary acoustic reference for an elderly population (aged 60-80) with perceptually normal voices to determine the degree of noise in the vocal signal of this population; a younger population (aged 20-30) with perceptually normal voices participated for comparison. The participants were tested on the MultidimensionalVoice Program (model 5105, KayPENTAX, Lincoln Park, NJ), and the following acoustic parameters were evaluated: relative average perturbation (cycle-to-cycle frequency perturbations), shimmer (cycle-to-cycle amplitude perturbations), and noise-to-harmonic ratio (degree of noise in the vocal signal).
Method:
Fifty participants between the ages of 60 and 80 (mean age, 69.5) and 50 participants between the ages of 20 and 30 (mean age, 23.23) were tested by sustaining the vowel /a/ on the Multidimensional Voice Program. Voice and/or speech samples were also recorded for each participant to reveal perceptually normal voices.
Results:
The older group had significantly higher levels of relative average perturbation, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio than the younger group, and males had significantly higher levels of shimmer than females.
Conclusion And Implications:
The acoustic values obtained for the older group with perceptually normal voices resembled data in the literature, particularly when the ages of the participants in the studies were similar. The present findings may possibly be used as a preliminary reference against which to compare clinical acoustic data to older clients with dysphonic voices.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Auditory Perception
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
01:29Assessment of Ventilation II: Respiratory Depth and Rhythm
Respiratory depth measures the volume of air inhaled or exhaled during a breath. It can vary from shallow to deep and typically remains consistent when a person is at rest or asleep. Occasionally, individuals will automatically inhale deeply, known as sighing, which inflates the lungs with more air than normal breathing.
To assess respiratory depth, observe the degree of chest excursion or movement:
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
01:30Cognitive Development During Adulthood
01:28Physical Assessment of the Respiratory Tract IV: Auscultation
Breath Sounds
Breath sounds are categorized into vesicular, bronchovesicular, and bronchial.