Reliability of Auditory-Perceptual Voice Evaluation: An Investigation of GRBAS Scale Reproducibility Among Expert...

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Acoustic analysis of voice

Background:

• The Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, Strain (GRBAS) scale is a standard tool for voice quality assessment.
• Concerns exist regarding the GRBAS scale's reliability, particularly between different evaluators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the GRBAS scale.
• To assess the GRBAS scale's performance when used by experienced speech-language pathologists and phonosurgeons.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted involving auditory-perceptual evaluation of voice samples.
• Study 1: 74 voice samples assessed twice by 3 experienced speech-language pathologists (SLPs) over 2 months.
• Study 2: 24 voice samples assessed by 5 experienced raters (3 SLPs, 2 phonosurgeons) to assess inter-rater reliability.

Main Results:

• All raters exhibited moderate to excellent intra-rater reliability for GRBAS parameters.
• Inter-rater reliability was moderate to substantial for Grade, Breathiness, and Asthenia.
• Slight inter-rater reliability was observed for Roughness and Strain, with Strain showing consistent poor reproducibility across studies.

Conclusions:

• The GRBAS scale demonstrates high intra-rater reliability among experienced professionals, suitable for longitudinal self-assessment.
• Inter-rater reliability is a concern, especially for Roughness and Strain parameters.
• Enhanced rater training and objective voice analysis tools are recommended to improve overall assessment reproducibility.