Voice Onset Time in Individuals With Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders: Evidence for Disordered Vocal Motor Control

Purpose This study examined vocal hyperfunction (VH) using voice onset time (VOT). We hypothesized that speakers with VH would produce shorter VOTs, indicating increased laryngeal tension, and more variable VOTs, indicating disordered vocal motor control. Method We enrolled 32 adult women with VH (aged 20-74 years) and 32 age- and sex-matched controls. All were speakers of American English. Participants produced vowel-consonant-vowel combinations that varied by vowel (ɑ/u) and plosive (p/b, t/d, k/g). VOT-measured at the release of the plosive to the initiation of voicing-was averaged over three repetitions of each vowel-consonant-vowel combination. The coefficient of variation (CoV), a measure of VOT variability, was also computed for each combination. Results The mean VOTs were not significantly different between the two groups; however, the CoVs were significantly greater in speakers with VH compared to controls. Voiceless CoV values were moderately correlated with clinical ratings of dysphonia (r = .58) in speakers with VH. Conclusion Speakers with VH exhibited greater variability in phonemic voicing targets compared to vocally healthy speakers, supporting the hypothesis for disordered vocal motor control in VH. We suggest future work incorporate VOT measures when assessing auditory discrimination and auditory-motor integration deficits in VH.