Altered Auditory Feedback in Teachers: A Preliminary Investigation

Area of Science:

• Speech and Hearing Sciences
• Occupational Health
• Bioacoustics

Background:

• University professors face high vocal risks, necessitating research into voice disorder prevention.
• Auditory-motor integration is a potential factor in voice disorders, suggesting feedback mechanisms are crucial.
• Bone conduction altered auditory feedback (AAF) offers a novel approach to modulate voice production.

Observation:

• Voice dosimetry recorded 43 hours of speech from two professors across 32 classes.
• Professors experienced real-time AAF via bone conduction intermittently during teaching.
• Acoustic parameters including sound pressure level (SPL), fundamental frequency (F0), and time dose were analyzed.

Findings:

• AAF significantly decreased SPL and time dose for both male and female professors.
• The male professor showed a significant decrease in F0, unlike the female professor.
• AAF effects were more pronounced in the male professor, indicating potential sex-based differences.

Implications:

• AAF via bone conduction demonstrates potential for improving vocal parameters in at-risk populations.
• This technology may offer a non-invasive method to mitigate vocal strain in professions with high speech demands.
• Further research is warranted to explore sex-specific responses and long-term efficacy of AAF.